Libyan Foreign Minister, Najla Mangoush has been suspended following her meeting with Foreign Minister Eli Cohen of Israel last week despite the countries not having formal relations.

Mangoush had declined to meet with Israeli officials, according to the Libyan Foreign Ministry, and what had happened was “an unplanned, informal contact at a meeting at Italy’s Foreign Affairs Ministry.”

In a statement, the Libyan ministry claimed that there had been “no negotiations, agreements, or consultations” and reiterated its “total and absolute rejection of normalisation” of ties with Israel.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry, in a statement on Sunday, stated that he had discussed “the immense potential for the two countries from their relations, as well as the need of conserving the heritage of Libyan Jewry, which includes refurbishing synagogues and Jewish cemeteries in the country.”

The statement further revealed that the ministers had discussed possible cooperation, prompting small protests in Libya, which does not recognise Israel.

In a statement released on Sunday, the Presidency Council—which serves as the head of state—asked GNU’s Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah for more information about what had happened.

The High State Council, which serves as a political advisory body for Libya, expressed its “astonishment” at the meeting’s reports and stated that those guilty “should be held accountable.”

Libya’s foreign policy lately has been unstable due to the country’s protracted civil war, acrimonious internal conflicts over who should run the country, and doubts about the legitimacy of any actions taken by the Tripoli government.

Political instability in a few North African countries has been a source of worry for many European countries as they remained a gateway for African migrants into Europe.

Israel has been working to improve relations with the Arab League, notably the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan since 2020 thanks to the “Abraham Accords,” which was mediated by the United States.