Relationship dossier
Libya
Palestine
Relationship assessment
Political support and solidarity, alongside a history of sharp Libyan policy reversals
Libya toward Palestine
+15Libyan governments have supported Palestinian political claims and representation. However, Gaddafi’s government expelled Palestinians in the 1990s as a protest against the Oslo process, a major instance of coercive policy toward Palestinians.
Palestine toward Libya
+15Palestinian leaders expressed support for Libya’s 2011 uprising. The breadth and continuity of subsequent Palestinian government cooperation with Libya’s changing authorities are unclear.
Overall relationship
+15The relationship has included political solidarity and Palestinian support for Libya’s 2011 uprising, but it has not been consistently cooperative. Libya’s expulsion of Palestinians in the 1990s stands out as a serious rupture. Subsequent political upheaval in Libya leaves the durability and scope of bilateral cooperation uncertain.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Libya has supported Palestinian political claims and Palestinian representation, but its policy has also included serious coercive measures: in the 1990s, Muammar Gaddafi’s government expelled Palestinians in protest against the Oslo process. Palestinian leaders, in turn, expressed support for Libya’s 2011 uprising. Political upheaval and changes in governing authority make the scope and continuity of later bilateral cooperation difficult to characterize.
Areas of tension
- Gaddafi’s government expelled Palestinians in the 1990s in protest against the Oslo process.
Key developments
Gaddafi’s government expelled Palestinians in protest against the Oslo process.
Palestinian leaders expressed support for Libya’s 2011 uprising.
Major uncertainties
- The scope of current government-to-government cooperation is unclear.
- The continuity of bilateral policy across Libya’s successive governing authorities is uncertain.