Visiting Israel, Saddam Haftar is seeking a fresh start

The son of Khalifa Haftar made a secret visit to Israel last week, according to a report published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Sunday.

A private French-made Dassault Falcon jet carrying Saddam Haftar landed at Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv after taking off from Dubai last Monday, Haaretz reported.

It remained at the airport for 90 minutes before travelling on to Libya, according to the Israeli newspaper.

The Haaretz report said that Khalifa and Saddam Haftar were “seeking military and diplomatic assistance from Israel”.

Haaretz said that it was not clear who the younger Haftar met on his reported visit to Ben-Gurion Airport, but said that Khalifa Haftar had previously had contacts with the Tevel department of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, which is responsible for secret contacts with entities Israel does not have diplomatic relations with.

It added that in the run-up to the elections, Saddam Haftar has been receiving assistance from PR companies and advisors based in France and the UAE, saying that “unconfirmed reports” suggested that Haftar’s representatives are working at a firm based in the UAE with Israelis.

The Haaretz report said that while Khalifa Haftar’s chances of leading the next government were “slim” due to his advanced age, fragile health andaccusations of war crimes against him, his son Saddam stood a better chance, even though he led a lavish lifestyle which suggested that he was “tainted with corruption”.