Libya’s eastern commander carrying out clandestine deals with Israel

BY Libyan Express Dec 25, 2017 - 17:32 Updated: Dec 25, 2017 - 17:49

Ari Ben-Menashe an Israeli retired intelligence employee (Left) and Khalifa Haftar, Operation Dignity commander in eastern Libya (Right)

Libyan social media and media outlets have been talking tirelessly since the weekend about the newly surfaced relationship between the commander of the self-proclaimed Libyan Army in east of the country Khalifa Haftar and Ari Ben-Menashe, who is an Israeli lobbyist.

Ben-Menashe is an Iranian-born Israeli businessman, security consultant and author. He was previously an employee of Israel’s Military Intelligence Directorate from 1977 to 1987 and an arms dealer.

Haftar has been reportedly said to have contacted an Israeli lobbying firm run by Ben-Menashe in Canada for the sake of rallying the international community around his alleged war on terror.

However, Libyan journalists, political activists and ordinary citizens have taken to the social media and media outlets to express their outrage at the revelation that Haftar is trying to establish relations with Israel and allow Israel to have a say in Libya for the first time in history.

The revelation came on the Facebook page of the former political adviser of Haftar, Mohamed Buisier, who said that Haftar paid 6 million dollars to Ari Ben-Menashe in order to lobby for him in Canada and elsewhere.

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