Israel, Libya foreign ministers hold first meeting — ministry

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — The foreign ministers of Israel and Libya met last week, Israel's foreign ministry said on Sunday of what is reported to be the first such diplomatic initiative between the two countries.

The unprecedented talks between Eli Cohen and his Libyan counterpart in the Tripoli-based administration, Najla Al Mangoush, took place at a meeting in Rome hosted by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.

"I spoke with the foreign minister about the great potential for the two countries from their relations," Cohen said in a statement from the foreign ministry.

The two discussed "the importance of preserving the heritage of Libyan Jews, which includes renovating synagogues and Jewish cemeteries in the country", Cohen was quoted as saying in the statement.

There was no immediate confirmation of the meeting either from Rome or from the authorities of the internationally recognised Libyan government.

Like several other North African countries, Libya has a rich Jewish heritage.

But during decades of rule by former Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi, who was a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause, thousands of Jews were expelled from Libya and many synagogues were destroyed.

Qadhafi was overthrown and killed in 2011 by a NATO-backed uprising that plunged the country into more than a decade of chaos and lawlessness.