Libyan renegade general announces readiness to cooperate with Israel

General Khalifa Haftar

Libyan renegade general Khalifa Haftar, who leads the Libyan militias fighting against Islamists in eastern Libya, has said he does not mind "cooperating with Israel and receiving various forms of support from it".

General Haftar initially fought on the side of Muammar Gaddafi, before turning against him to fight with Islamist groups in 2011. He recently re-emerged as the leader of a military campaign to eradicate Islamist factions in the country.

The editor in chief of Egypt's Al-Mesryoon newspaper, Gamal Sultan, quoted a statement made by Haftar during an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera on Sunday, in which he expressed his willingness to receive support from Israel.

Sultan tweeted Haftar's response to a question about his willingness to receive Israeli support: "Why not? The enemy of my enemy is my friend" (the latter being a reference to Islamists militias).

Libya rebels accuse Haftar of being part of a conspiracy against the Libyan revolution and the Libyan people that involves Egypt, the UAE and other countries.

Western and Arab countries support Haftar to eliminate Libya rebels despite a decision by the country's Constitutional Court which ordered dissolving Tobruk Parliament which supports Hafter and his troops and provides them with legal cover in their military operations against the rebels.