Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seemed to shift responsibility for the Tripoli backlash brought on by the revelation of a secret meeting with the Libyan foreign minister to his senior diplomat.

On August 26, the office of Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen made public the fact that Cohen had previously met with Najla Mangoush, his colleague from Libya, in Italy. The announcement followed a story about the meeting in Israeli media.

The news triggered protests in Libya, which does not recognise Israel and where pro-Palestinian sentiment is strong, and led Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah to fire Mangoush.

“It is not helpful, now that’s clear,” Netanyahu told Cypriot TV station ANT1 when asked about the publication.

“I’ve issued a directive to all our government ministers that such meetings of this kind have to be cleared in advance with my office, and certainly their publication has to be cleared in advance with my office.”

Analysts say Dbeibah and other Libyan leaders have attempted to build ties with Israel in the hope that the United States, which sees Arab normalisation of relations with Israel as a priority, would support them in Libya’s internal political rifts.

Israel, for its part, is keen to pursue discreet talks with potential Arab and Muslim partners in the hope that they will develop into full ties. In the ANT1 interview, Netanyahu called the handling of the Cohen-Magoush meeting “an exception to the rule”.

In an Aug. 28 social media post pushing back against the furore, Cohen defended his ministry for “always working in overt and covert channels, and in a range of discreet means, to bolster Israel’s foreign relations”.