Libya , (The Palestine Information Centre)Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has issued a directive that requires his office to approve all covert political talks in advance amid uproar over the disclosure of an unprecedented meeting between top Israeli and Libyan diplomats.
Netanyahu’s spokesman, Topaz Luk, said on Tuesday that in addition to prior approval, the order also mandated the Israeli premier personally allow the publication of news on secret meetings.
Netanyahu, he added, issued the order in response to the fallout from a revelation by Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen about a meeting with his Libyan counterpart, Najla al-Mangoush, despite the two sides not having formal relations.
In a press statement released on Sunday, Cohen announced that the “historic” sit-down took place in Rome last week.
In the aftermath, Libya’s Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah dismissed Mangoush, who fled the North African country out of concern for her safety in the wake of street protests.
