Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has issued an order saying he must approve all secret talks after a leaked meeting between his foreign minister and the latter’s Libyan counterpart led to a fiasco.
The premier has also said his ministers need to secure his consent before publicising news of any such meetings, his spokesperson said.
Netanyahu, who said he had no knowledge of the meeting between the Israeli and Libyan foreign ministers, appears to want to distance himself from the fallout of the political debacle that could affect his entire normalisation agenda with Arab states.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Sunday that top diplomat Eli Cohen met Libyan Foreign Minister Najla al-Mangoush in Rome last week, hailing it as a “historic” step towards normalisation with the North African state.
The news immediately created a firestorm, leading Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah to suspend al-Mangoush pending an investigation. He fired al-Mangoush after she fled to Turkey for fear of her safety.
Protests also erupted across several cities in Libya after the news was publicised, with demonstrators setting fire to tyres, waving Palestinian flags and chanting against the prime minister. Libya has been traditionally a supporter of Palestine against Israeli occupation.
Original from www.aljazeera.com
