Israel’s little-known support for Haftar’s war in Libya
With the help of the UAE, Israel is providing arms and training to the Libyan National Army
Yossi Melman
15 April 2020
Despite pleas by the United Nations and international humanitarian organisations to suspend violence, at least temporarily during the coronavirus pandemic, the Libyan civil war continues as usual.
Following an attack last Monday, water supply was cut to more than two million people in Tripoli and nearby towns. Now fierce battles are raging to the west of the Libyan capital.
The conflict between the two major rival factions is fuelled by increased international intervention and a constant supply of weapons, in blatant violation of UN sanctions and an arms embargo.
On one side stands the Tripoli-based and UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), led by the 60-year-old Fayez al-Sarraj, an architect by profession.
The GNA is supported mainly by Qatar and Turkey, which has turned into a major supplier of weapons and mercenaries to Sarraj’s forces.
Turkey has also sent drones to Libya – some of them home-grown based on old Israeli models, and some Israeli-made, which were sold to Azerbaijan, Turkey’s ally. Turkey is also recruiting hundreds of Syrian fighters to ship them to Libya as mercenaries to prop up the GNA.
On the other side are the forces of General Khalifa Haftar, who controls eastern Libya with its major port city of Benghazi. The 67-year-old is commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA).
Haftar, who has American citizenship, was known to be very close to the CIA during his exile under Muammar Gaddafi. No wonder, then that Haftar is supported by the administration of President Donald Trump, which outwardly supports international peace efforts but covertly encourages Haftar’s campaigns.
US allies in the Middle East follow suit. Among them stand out Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, and to a lesser degree Israel.
Arms and training
The Israeli connection is less well known but still very important. In fact, the role played by Haftar is a result of the axis created in recent years, consisting of Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Israel.
This week, Al Araby television reported that the UAE financed and provided the LNA with advanced air defence systems, which were manufactured by an Israeli firm and transferred via Egypt. These systems are aimed at countering the Turkish drones.
The Libyan “file” is held by Mossad, which coordinates its operations and policies regarding Haftar with the Egyptian government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and his intelligence chief Abbas Kamel.
Between 2017 and 2019, Mossad envoys met on numerous occasions with Haftar in Cairo, and have facilitated the training of some of his key officers in war tactics, intelligence gathering and analysis, as well as control and command measures.
In addition, Mossad also helped his forces purchase night-vision equipment and sniper rifles.
The special ties between Haftar and Israel are an historical irony. He served in the Libyan army under Gaddafi, and took part in the coup that brought the autocrat to power in 1969.
In 1973, as a young officer, he was a member of the Libyan contingent that assisted Egypt in the October war. However, the Libyan brigade and its pilots who were stationed in Egypt didn’t take part in the active fighting.
Read more at http://www.defenddemocracy.press/israels-little-known-support-for-haftars-war-in-libya/
