The Times of Israel said that Libyan-Israeli contacts are not new and are rooted in a long history after it became known about the meeting between the Israeli foreign minister and his Libyan counterpart, which took place a few days ago in Italy.
The newspaper stated: “A peace deal between Libya and Israel is out of the question, but Libyan-Israeli contacts began with the help of local Jews many years ago.”
The head of the Union of Libyan Jews, Rafael Luzon, claims to have initiated the first bilateral meeting, leading to a high-level meeting in Rome last week, but Tripoli now denies this.
The newspaper published a photo showing a meeting in Rhodes (Greece) on June 30, 2017 of the former Libyan Minister of Information, Culture and Antiquities Omar Al-Quwayri with the former Israeli Minister of Communications Ayub Kara and the head of the member of the Libyan Jewish Union Rafael Luzon.
Although Luzon had nothing to do with the recent diplomatic meeting, in an interview with The Times on Sunday of Israel, he described the first contacts he facilitated between senior Israeli and Libyan officials about six years ago as paving the way for this week’s meeting. past.
In June 2017, Luzon hosted a meeting on the Greek island of Rhodes that brought together delegations from the two countries. Israel was represented by then Social Equality Minister Gila Gamliel, whose mother is from Libya, then Communications Minister Ayub Kara, Knesset Deputy Speaker Yehil Bar, and retired Major General Yom. Tov Samiya, who is also a Libyan, and the Libyan delegation to Rhodes was led by the then Minister of Information Culture and Antiquities, Omar Al-Quwayri.
In the relevant context, Luzon stated that “Libyan-Israeli meetings are not new”, noting that “there are Libyans who welcomed the meeting and were pleased with it, and on the other hand, there are those who attacked the meeting, which later led to violent protests and demonstrations.
He pointed to “a group of meetings and contacts between Israeli and Libyan officials that he was aware of that took place before and after the Libyan revolution”, noting that after the meeting in Rhodes, he organized “several informal meetings in Europe with Libyan and Libyan Israeli diplomats.
He added: “It is noteworthy that the rapprochement between the two countries initially took place on the basis of the Abraham Accords. But unlike Gulf states such as the UAE and Bahrain, which share a common regional enemy with Israel, Iran, Libya does not face a serious external threat. The biggest problem is instability. “internal”.
Source: Times of Israel.
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