Libya's Haftar 'provided with Israeli
military aid following UAE-mediated meetings with Mossad agents'
The New Arab,
24 July, 2017
Haftar's LNA has been provided with
Israeli-made sniper rifles [TNA]
Libyan General Haftar has
reportedly been receiving Israeli military aid following
meetings with Israeli intelligence that were mediated by the
United Arab Emirates.
Khalifa Haftar, the military commander who controls the east of
the Libya, has reportedly been receiving Israeli
military aid following meetings with Israeli intelligence that
were allegedly mediated by the United Arab Emirates.
A high-ranking military source in Haftar's forces told The
New Arab on Monday that the controversial
UAE-backed military strongman has held secret meetings with the
Israeli agents over the past two years.
"Coordination between Haftar and Israel has been ongoing, he
held talks with Mossad agents in Jordan in 2015 and 2016," the
source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear for
his safety, said.
"The meetings, which appear to have been mediated by the UAE,
were held in strict secrecy," he said, adding that he has seen
documents that reveal Haftar met with Israeli intelligence
agents going by the names Ackerman and Mizrachi.
The source said that Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army
[LNA] has been provided with Israeli military aid in the form of
sniper rifles and night vision equipment.
"It is well-known among fighters on the ground that they are
using Israeli-made sniper rifles as they are labelled as such,"
the source said.
He hinted at coordination between Haftar's command and the
Israeli military in air raids conducted in Operation Dignity,
the offensive against several jihadists groups which overrun
Benghazi after the 2011 uprising that toppled dictator Moammar
Gaddafi.
The UAE along with Egypt, a close ally of Israel, have supported
Haftar, whose forces are also fighting factions allied with a
UN-backed government in Tripoli.
Earlier this month, Haftar met with UAE leaders for talks on
military cooperation, days after announcing the retaking of
second city Benghazi from jihadists.
The UN in June released a
report accusing the UAE of supplying helicopters and other
military aircraft to Haftar in violation of a UN arms embargo.
The UAE's ties to Israel have recently come to light after a
group of hackers accessed and published emails from the Emirati
ambassador to the US, showing a growing link between the UAE and
a pro-Israel think-tank.
This week, an Israeli daily reported that
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and UAE Foreign
Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan held a secret
meeting in New York in 2012.
Haftar does not recognise the authority of the Tripoli-based
GNA, instead backing an alternate government based in the
country's east.
An east Libyan minister was pictured last
month meeting with two prominent Israelis.
Omar al-Gawairi, the Minister of Antiquities for the General
National Congress in Beida attended a conference on the right of
return for Libyan Jews in Rhodes, Greece.
Algerian media reported this
week that Algerian authorities have sent Haftar a "strong
warning" after receiving information about Israeli military
support for the LNA.
French presidency said on Monday that UN-backed Prime Minister
Fayez al-Sarraj will hold talks near Paris on Tuesday with
Haftar to attempt to facilitate a political agreement between
the rival leaders.
