BBC: 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.
However, the deputy leader of Mr Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party called the comments "grave and unacceptable".
Mr Lieberman's office said: "If this report is correct then this is an unacceptable interference in internal Israeli affairs."
Mr Netanyahu's office issued a statement saying the PM voiced his "full confidence" in Mr Lieberman during a meeting with ambassadors from European Union countries. >>> | Tuesday, June 30, 2009
