Najla al-Mangoush
Najla al-MangoushREUTERS/Hazem Ahmed

Libya’s former foreign minister, Najla al-Mangoush, has defended her 2023 meeting in Italy with then-Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, stating she did not consider it “wrong.”

Her comments came in a recent interview on Al Jazeera’s Atheer podcast. In the interview, Mangoush explained that the informal and secret meeting had been coordinated by both the Israeli government and Libya’s Tripoli-based Government of National Unity, led by Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah.

After Cohen revealed that the meeting with Mangoush took place, Dbeibah suspended Mangoush and referred her to investigation.

It was later reported that Mangoush left the country and boarded a private plane to Turkey.

The meeting caused an uproar in Libya, with protests erupting against the meeting. Later, Dbeibah stressed that Libya opposes any normalization with Israel.

“I do not think [the meeting] was wrong from a matter of principle,” Mangoush said in the interview, as quoted by Middle East Eye. “When the meeting with the Israeli side took place, it was not for the reasons that were shared by media outlets. The meeting was limited to specific topics and within a specific framework.”

Mangoush also criticized Dbeibah's handling of the situation, saying, “The issue would have been resolved simply if Dbeibah had spoken directly, addressed the Libyan people, and revealed the truth.”

During the interview, Mangoush shed light on the nature of the meeting with Cohen.

“There were many sensitive strategic and security issues, that matter to Libya’s safety and stability, that were discussed with the Israeli side, without going into details,” she noted.

While remaining tight-lipped on specifics due to the secretive nature of the talks, she said she “presented what we were worried about, our reservations, and the ideas that we tried to discuss with the Israeli side.”

Mangoush also clarified that she had no role in organizing the meeting’s logistics or agenda, explaining that her involvement was limited to fulfilling her duties as foreign minister to convey her government’s message.