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Libyan military figure Saddam Haftar is seeking closer political ties with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior figures in U.S. President Donald Trump's orbit as he works to strengthen his standing with Western governments, Italian media outlet Il Foglio reported.
According to the report, Haftar, deputy commander general of eastern Libya and son of Khalifa Haftar, was in Abu Dhabi on Monday at around the same time Netanyahu arrived for what was described as a secret meeting with United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed.
Flight-tracking sites identified an Airbus A319 with registration P4-KH5I9 arriving from Benghazi at Abu Dhabi's Al Bateen airport at 12:40 p.m., about 20 minutes after Netanyahu's arrival, Il Foglio reported. The aircraft is commonly used by Saddam Haftar, according to the report.
Mohamed Buisier, a former political adviser to Khalifa Haftar, said on X that Saddam Haftar had met Netanyahu to seek political support for a possible Libyan presidential bid.
The report said this would not be the first time Saddam Haftar had held contact with Israeli officials.
In 2021, Haaretz tracked an aircraft linked to him to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, where he was reported to have met Mossad officials.
Later that year, Israel Hayom reported that the Haftar family had reached an agreement with an Israeli lobbying and communications company through mediation by the UAE.
Il Foglio linked Haftar's latest outreach to efforts to rebuild his standing in Washington following reports alleging his involvement in a Libyan-Spanish terrorist cell operating in Zawiya and Tripoli.
The newspaper said those allegations concerned attacks on infrastructure as well as military and political figures in western Libya.
Il Foglio also reported that Haftar is expected to meet U.S. Vice President JD Vance in Washington.
The meeting would follow Haftar's talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the United States in June.
Since March, U.S. consulting firm Ballard Partners has represented Haftar's interests, according to the report.
Sources cited by Il Foglio said Haftar was seeking to establish himself as an "indispensable leader" in Libya and wanted relationships that went beyond meetings arranged for publicity.
Il Foglio also reported that Haftar is seeking ties with U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle.
According to the newspaper, the connection could run through Refaat al Abbar, a close Haftar ally described in U.N. reports as his "shadow man" inside Libya's National Oil Corporation.
Abbar and Mohamed Dabaiba, son of Tripoli-based Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dabaiba, are competing for control of NOC subsidiary Waha Oil and Gas, the report said.
Il Foglio said Mohamed Dabaiba had effectively taken control of the company and linked recent sabotage of oil infrastructure in western Libya to Zintan tribes close to Haftar.
Sources cited by the newspaper said the Haftar camp was seeking Guilfoyle's mediation in an effort to regain control of Waha Oil and Gas.
The report said Haftar is seeking new political sponsors as the position of Massad Boulos, the father-in-law of Trump's daughter Tiffany and a supporter of a plan to unify Libya, has become uncertain following reports about the alleged terrorist cell.
Il Foglio presented Guilfoyle as a possible alternative connection because of her close ties to the Trump family.
The Wall Street Journal recently accused Guilfoyle of improperly favoring sales of U.S.-produced liquefied natural gas, according to the report. Il Foglio said it remained unclear whether the allegations would affect her diplomatic position.
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