US said furious with Israel for exposing Libya talks, jeopardizing efforts

Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter

People burn a shirt showing Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and his Libyan counterpart Najla Mangoush in Tripoli, Libya, August 27, 2023.  (AP Photo/Yousef Murad)
People burn a shirt showing Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and his Libyan counterpart Najla Mangoush in Tripoli, Libya, August 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Yousef Murad)

Washington is furious with Israel for revealing last week’s meeting between the foreign ministers of Israel and Libya, the Walla news site reports.

The Biden administration tells Israel that the episode will deter other countries from embarking on a normalization process with Israel, according to the report.

A US official also says it “killed” the conversation with Libya about recognizing Israel.

US President Joe Biden was aware of the meeting, says Walla, and encouraged Tripoli to attend, but was under the impression that the meeting was secret and would remain so.

American officials are also unconvinced by the Foreign Ministry’s explanation that they released their statement about the meeting in reaction to a leak, saying that Israel could have just chosen not to comment on the leaks and minimized the damage.

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