HoR and HSC demand oil export ban and departure of ambassadors over Israel support

Oct 25, 2023 | International actors

On 25 October, the House of Representatives (HoR) demanded the immediate departure of the ambassadors of countries supporting Israel in the Gaza war. At the same time, it also demanded a ban on oil and gas exports to these countries if the ‘massacres by the occupation army’ are not stopped immediately. Explicitly named were the US, UK, France and Italy. Former High State Council (HSC) head Khaled al-Mishri has welcomed the HoR’s statement.

The following day, in an extraordinary meeting on the Gaza war, the HSC also called for the severance of diplomatic relations with countries that support Israel. They said that no more oil or gas should be supplied to these countries either and their products should be boycotted. On the same day, five HoR members protested outside the UNSMIL office in Tripoli and outside the French and Italian embassies against the ‘massacres by the Zionists and the murders of the Palestinian population.’

Later on 28 October, the National Consensus Bloc at the HSC called on the HoR to urgently enact legislation prohibiting all companies that ‘support the Israeli occupation’ from participating in upcoming tenders in Libya, especially in the oil and gas sector. The first article of a National Consensus Bloc draft states that any person residing in Libya or representing Libya abroad is prohibited from entering into an agreement or conducting a transaction with a national of one of the countries ‘supporting’ Israel’s war in Gaza. The Government of National Unity (GNU) should compile lists of foreign companies and individuals covered by this law, it said.