Last week, the Libyan foreign minister Najla Mangoush met with her Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen in Italy. But after Israeli officials announced that the meeting had taken place, Prime Minister Abdul Hamid al-Dbeibeh first insisted it was a chance encounter, then fired Mangoush and claimed that she orchestrated the meeting of her own accord—which she denies. Protests subsequently broke out in Tripoli and a few other cities, leading Mangoush to flee the country. Complicating the situation is the fact that Dbeibeh only governs the western part of Libya, and is locked in a civil war with the Russia-backed warlord Khalifa Haftar, as well as various jihadist groups.

Gianluca Pacchiani discusses the affair with Raphael Luzon, a Libyan Jew who has been involved in trying to foster contacts between Jerusalem and Tripoli:

While Luzon was not connected to the latest diplomatic get-together, . . . he described the first contacts he facilitated between high-ranking Israeli and Libyan officials some six years ago, opening the way to last week’s meeting. In June 2017, Luzon arranged a meeting on the Greek island of Rhodes that brought together [ministerial] delegations from the two countries.

Held at the Rodos Palace Hotel over three days, the conference focused on the 50th anniversary of the expulsion of Jews from Libya after the 1967 Six-Day War between Israel and the Arab world. The Libyan delegate spoke at the conference about Libyan Jews’ right to return to the country and to receive compensation for the losses they incurred.

According to Luzon, the inkling of a rapprochement between the two countries initially came from the Abraham Accords. But unlike Gulf countries such as the UAE and Bahrain, which share a common regional foe with Israel in Iran, Libya is not faced with a significant external threat. Its most severe problem is its internal instability.

Indeed, its incentives for establishing preliminary ties with the Jewish state have more in common with those of Morocco. “Libyan officials are in awe at Israel’s ability to make the desert bloom,” Luzon said. “The country is mostly covered in sand; it’s massive in size and underpopulated. It was already an obsession under [the late dictator Muammar] Gaddafi to make the desert livable and prosperous.”

On Tuesday, representatives of Hamas met with their counterparts from Fatah—the faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) once led by Yasir Arafat that now governs parts of the West Bank—in Beijing to discuss possible reconciliation. While it is unlikely that these talks will yield any more progress than the many previous rounds, they constitute a significant step in China’s increasing attempts to involve itself in the Middle East on the side of Israel’s enemies.

By contrast, writes Tuvia Gering, Taiwan has been quick and consistent in its condemnations of Hamas and Iran and its expressions of sympathy with Israel:

Support from Taipei goes beyond words. Taiwan’s appointee in Tel Aviv and de-facto ambassador, Abby Lee, has been busy aiding hostage families, adopting the most affected kibbutzim in southern Israel, and volunteering with farmers. Taiwan recently pledged more than half a million dollars to Israel for critical initiatives, including medical and communications supplies for local municipalities. This follows earlier aid from Taiwan to an organization helping Israeli soldiers and families immediately after the October 7 attack.

The reasons why are not hard to fathom:

In many ways, Taiwan sees a reflection of itself in Israel—two vibrant democracies facing threats from hostile neighbors. Both nations wield substantial economic and technological prowess, and both heavily depend on U.S. military exports and diplomacy. Taipei also sees Israel as a “role model” for what Taiwan should aspire to be, citing its unwavering determination and capabilities to defend itself.

On a deeper level, Taiwanese leaders seem to view Israel’s war with Hamas and Iran as an extension of a greater struggle between democracy and autocracy.

Gering urges Israel to reciprocate these expressions of friendship and to take into account that “China has been going above and beyond to demonize the Jewish state in international forums.” Above all, he writes, Jerusalem should “take a firmer stance against China’s support for Hamas and Iran-backed terrorism, exposing the hypocrisy and repression that underpin its vision for a new global order.”