Frances Guy

BEIRUT – Israel has criticized Britain’s ambassador to Lebanon for eulogizing a recently deceased Lebanese cleric said to have inspired Hizbullah.

Frances Guy wrote on her personal blog that Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah was a “decent man” who rated among the people she most admired.

An Israeli spokesman said Ayatollah Fadlallah was “unworthy of praise.”

The UK foreign office says it has taken down the blog after “mature consideration.”

It said the comments reflected Ms. Guy’s personal opinion, not official UK policy.

Ayatollah Fadlallah, Lebanon’s top Shi’a Muslim cleric, died on Sunday at the age of 74. Tens of thousands of people attended his funeral in Beirut and tributes poured in from all over the Arab and Islamic worlds.

Two days before, CNN sacked a veteran Middle East editor who wrote on Twitter that she “respected” the late cleric, saying that her credibility had been compromised.

Ayatollah Fadlallah was customarily described as the spiritual leader of the militant movement Hizbullah when it was formed in 1982 — a claim both he and the group denied.

Ms. Guy, who has been ambassador since 2006, wrote on her blog that Ayatollah Fadlallah was the politician in Lebanon she most enjoyed meeting.

“The world needs more men like him willing to reach out across faiths, acknowledging the reality of the modern world and daring to confront old constraints,” she wrote.

Israel’s foreign ministry denounced the comments.