Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s announcement of Eli Cohen’s meeting with his Libyan counterpart Najla Mangoush, which sparked rioting in Tripoli and the removal of Mangoush from her post, was “not helpful” and “an exception to the rule” of covert contacts, and the Israeli government would ensure it wouldn’t be repeated.
Asked during an interview by Cyprus’s ΑΝΤ1 about the scandal and whether making the meeting public had been helpful, Netanyahu answered: “Well, it wasn’t helpful now, that’s clear.”
“This is an exception to the rule. There have been, just, innumerable confidential contacts made between Israel and Arab leaders, Muslim leaders… But we were very careful not to reveal this [ahead] of time,” the Israeli prime minister said.
In the interview, Netanyahu acknowledged that “it’s very important to maintain these discreet channels which eventually can blossom and flower into open relations, but not necessarily in an uncontrolled way. In fact — necessarily they shouldn’t be publicized in an uncontrolled way.”
The premier noted that “I’ve issued a directive to all our government ministries that such meetings of this kind have to be cleared in advance with my office, and certainly their publication has to be cleared in advance with my office.”
Last Sunday, Cohen announced that he had sat down with his Libyan counterpart in Italy. His disclosure of the meeting sparked outrage in Libya, and Mangoush lost her job and fled the country.