A botched push for improved Libya-Israeli relations will chill their covert ties while potentially fueling instability in Libya as opposition groups use the scandal to undermine the Tripoli-based government. On Aug. 28, Libya's internationally recognized Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah fired Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush for meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen in Italy the preceding week. The firing took place after Israel's Foreign Ministry published a statement confirming the meeting on Aug. 27, causing an uproar in Libya and sparking protests in cities including Tripoli, Misrata and Zintan. Libya's House of Representatives, which supports Libya's Benghazi-based rival governing faction, also slammed the move, while at least one Islamist politician in Tripoli called for the dismissal of Dbeibah's government. According to Israeli media, the meeting between Mangoush and Cohen focused on areas of cooperation for the preservation of Jewish heritage sites in Libya, Israeli aid for Libyan agriculture, water...
