Libyan Renegade General Khalifa Haftar hopes to have normal relations with Israel if the Palestinian issue is resolved, Maariv reported at the weekend. This was confirmed by Haftar’s de facto foreign minister, Abdul Hadi Al-Howeej, in an interview with the Hebrew-language newspaper.
“We are a member state of the Arab League and are committed to its decisions, as well as those of the UN,” explained Al-Howeej. “We support the rights of the people, including all of the rights of the Palestinian people. But we support regional peace, oppose terrorism and fight it in Libya as well.”
Al-Howeej added that Haftar’s nominal government in Libya enjoys the support of Russia, France, Egypt, Britain, Saudi Arabia and others. He noted that the UN recognises the national unity government based in Tripoli led by Fayez Al-Sarraj, which he claimed is controlled by extremist Islamic militants backed by Turkey and Qatar.
The official condemned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s actions in the Middle East. This was a reference to the deal struck between Turkey and the UN-backed Libyan government last Wednesday relating to trade and arms sales. Al-Howeej claimed that the deal was signed with those who have “no right to give to those against whom we are battling.”
He also condemned the oil agreements signed by Tripoli because, he claimed, “what interests [the government there] is only terrorism, arms and oil.”
According to Maariv, the US backs Haftar, but calls for him to stop his siege of Tripoli. It also reported that a senior American delegation had met with Haftar and discussed the Russian “invasion” of Libya.
