The Libyan Attorney General, Al-Sadiq Al-Sour commented on last year’s meeting in Rome between former Foreign Minister, Najla Al-Mangoush and her Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen.
He stated that Al-Mangoush, “cannot be summoned before charges are made according to the law, and we have twice requested intelligence reports on the incident to confirm this.” He emphasised the demand for reports to document this violation.
Libyan Justice Minister, Halima Ibrahim affirmed her commitment to the confidentiality of the investigation. Al-Sour had earlier mentioned the formation of a committee to investigate the Rome incident.
Earlier, the Spokesman for the Libyan Parliament, Abdullah Blaiheg announced the unanimous vote in favour of a law criminalising normalisation with Israel.
The House had agreed to amend the law, to strengthen the penalties in Law No. 62 of 1957 related to the criminalisation of normalisation with Israel.
This includes criminalising travel to and from Israel, or establishing any contacts or relationships with Israeli individuals or entities. As well as prohibiting Israeli aircraft and ships from passing through Libya.
The Rome meeting sparked widespread anger in Libya, with political parties expressing condemnation. Hundreds of Libyans took to the streets to express their rejection of the meeting in cities such as Tripoli, Al-Zawiyah, Benghazi, and Al-Marj.
In response, Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity (GNU) officially dismissed Al-Mangoush, and referred her for investigation.
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu seemed to place responsibility on his Foreign Minister for revealing details of the secret meeting, according to Reuters.
The office of Israeli Foreign Minister, Eli Cohen made public on 26 August his encounter with Al-Mangoush, which had taken place earlier in the month in Italy. This announcement closely followed an Israeli media report about the meeting.