International media reports highlight the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Abu Dhabi, after a report by the Italian newspaper “Il Foglio”, reported by the Israeli “mako” website, revealed an unannounced meeting between him and Saddam Haftar, deputy commander of the forces controlling eastern Libya and the son of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, without any official confirmation from the Israeli or Libyan sides, at a time when informed Libyan sources confirmed that the meeting took place.
According to air traffic, an Airbus A-319 plane bearing the registration number “P4-KH5I9” and usually used by Saddam Haftar, landed at Al Bateen Airport in Abu Dhabi at 12:40 p.m., that is, only about 20 minutes after the arrival of Netanyahu’s plane, coinciding with the arrival of other official planes coming from Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. This coincidence reinforced speculation about the meeting, as the former political advisor to Khalifa Haftar, Muhammad Buisir, indicated on the “X” platform that “Saddam met with Netanyahu to obtain political support for his candidacy for the presidency of Libya.”
These communications are not the first of their kind; In 2021, the newspaper “Haaretz” monitored a plane belonging to Saddam Haftar at Ben Gurion Airport to meet with officials in the “Mossad”, followed by reports by the newspaper “Israel Today” in October of the same year about an agreement concluded by the Haftar family with an Israeli company for political pressure, mediated by the Emirates.
The Italian newspaper links these movements to Saddam Haftar’s efforts to restore his position in Washington, amid reports accusing him of forming a Libyan-Spanish cell that carried out attacks with drones that targeted oil infrastructure in Al-Zawiya and military sites and figures in Tripoli. These are accusations attributed to the head of the National Unity Government, Abdul Hamid Al-Dabaiba, and the newspaper’s sources. In the same context, Haftar has been working to expand his American channels since last March through the political consulting and lobbying firm “Ballard Partners,” preparing to meet with US Vice President Jay DeVance in Washington, after meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio in June, in an attempt to establish himself as an indispensable leader despite the internal accusations.
These developments gain double political sensitivity, given their coincidence with Netanyahu’s announced official visit to Abu Dhabi and his meeting with President Mohammed bin Zayed, where the two sides discussed bilateral relations and regional issues, most notably the Iranian file. These facts turn Netanyahu’s visit into a station of intertwined interests that brings together the Israeli, Emirati, Libyan, and American dimensions in redrawing the balance of power inside Libya.
