Israel’s foreign ministry has accused France of unacceptable meddling in its internal affairs over a reported comment by President Nicolas Sarkozy.
He was quoted by Israeli TV calling for Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who leads a far-right party, to be sacked.
The plea, which has not been confirmed nor denied by officials, was allegedly made during a meeting with Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu last week.
Israeli Arab leaders have accused the foreign minister of anti-Arab racism.
Ahmed Tibi, a member of the Israeli parliament for the United Arab List, welcomed President Sarkozy’s comments, saying: “The international community has started to absorb the danger of the fascism” coming from Mr Lieberman.
