Israeli military ‘secretly training’ Libya’s Haftar militias in street warfare
7 December, 2019
Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar has been secretly meeting with Israeli intelligence officials, resulting in the Israeli military training militias loyal to Haftar in “street warfare”, Libyan and Egyptian sources have revealed to The New Arab’s Arabic-language service.
A security cooperation agreement between the two sides gave rise to Egypt coordinating the transfer of specialised Israeli officers to Haftar-controlled territories in Libya to carry out the training in August and September of 2019.
Haftar’s Libyan National Army and its allied tribes, militias and mercenaries are currently locked in a battle to capture the capital Tripoli and defeat the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Fayez Sarraj.
Read more at https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/News/
How Khalifa Haftar’s secret ties with Israel fuel chaos in Libya
5 Dec 2019
The Libyan warlord’s growing ties with Tel Aviv not only contribute to the turmoil gripping Libya but also undermines its internationally-recognised government.
Over the past few years as Libya grappled with conflict, chaos and fragmentation, renegade warlord Khalifa Haftar, who controls the port city of Benghazi, has cultivated strong military ties with Israel to boost his armed campaign against the UN-recognised government of Fayez al Sarraj.
Haftar has convinced Israel and other regional players, such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, that his foriegn policy goals compliment theirs.
Read more at https://www.trtworld.com/africa/
Libya’s Haftar had lengthy meeting with Israeli intelligence officer
July 3, 2018
Sources close to Libya’s strongman, General Khalifa Haftar said that he had an extended meeting with an Israeli intelligence officer earlier this month in the Jordanian capital, Amman, to “deepen security coordination between him and Israel”.
The source, who preferred not to be named told al- Araby al- Jadeed newspaper Monday that “Haftar has asked that the Israeli security forces intensify their presence in southern Libya to cut off French and Italian desire to control the region”.
The source added that Haftar promised the Israeli officer that he will provide safe centers for Israel especially in Sabha, which is in the middle of the Libyan desert.
Read more at https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/
Israel’s Involvement in Libya’s Civil War
For several reasons, Israel has joined various Arab powers to back a strongman in Libya, explains Giorgio Cafiero.
By Giorgio Cafiero
July 13, 2019
Since mid-2014, Libya has been mired in civil war, pitting the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli against a rival administration in Tobruk, the House of Representatives (HoR), which is allied with General Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA). Despite lacking UN legitimacy, Haftar and his forces have received backing from a host of powerful states whose leaders view the Benghazi-based commander as Libya’s only alternative to the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist actors in the war-torn North African country. Among these nations is Israel.
Tel Aviv, along with Cairo, Paris, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi support Haftar, whose opponents suspect him of wanting to become a “new Gaddafi” who seeks to establish an Egyptian-style military dictatorship in Libya.
Israeli backing of the Benghazi-based commander illustrates the regional geopolitical dynamics which have led Sunni Arab states—specifically Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE—to find themselves in the same boat with Israel, sharing the same perceptions of security threats.
Read more at https://consortiumnews.com/2019/07/13/israels-involvement-in-libyas-civil-war/
