Libya mulls oil embargo against supporters of Israel’s war on Gaza

The geopolitical ramifications of the Israeli Defence Forces’ (IDF) war on the Gaza strip following Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel are also to be found in Libya and could impact the country’s foreign relations as well as its internal conflict dynamics.

On October 25, the House of Representatives (HoR) called for an oil embargo against Western countries supporting the IDF’s recent actions and the departure from Libya of the American, British, French, and Italian ambassadors. Such calls were reiterated by members of the High Council of State (HCS), who even asked for the formation of a joint Arab-Islamic military force to protect civilians in Gaza.

Libya finds itself in a minority of Muslim majority countries ready to use oil as a political weapon to put an end to Israel’s military escalations in the Gaza strip. During the emergency meeting of the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah on October 18, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian called upon his Muslim counterparts to expel Israeli diplomats and apply sanctions, including an oil embargo, against Tel Aviv.