French writer passes National Transitional Council’s message
of intentions to Netanyahu

JERUSALEM – French writer Bernard Henri Levy said he
delivered a message on Thursday from Libyan rebel leaders to Israel’s premier
saying they would seek diplomatic ties with Israel if they came to power.

French writer Bernard Henri Levy shakes hands with Libyan National Transitional Council leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil (L).

Levy told AFP he passed on the verbal message from Libya’s
National Transitional Council during a 90-minute meeting with Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

“The main point was that the future Libyan regime would
be moderate and anti-terrorist and will be concerned with justice for the
Palestinians and security for Israel,” Levy said.

“The future regime will maintain normal relations with
other democratic countries, including Israel,” he added.

Levy, who helped engineer France’s recognition of Libya’s
fledgling rebel authority, visited the rebel-held Libyan city of Misrata last
weekend.

He said on Thursday that Netanyahu “did not appear
surprised” at the content of the Libyan message.

Netanyahu’s office confirmed the meeting with the French
writer and philosopher but did not comment on the discussion. “The prime
minister likes to meet intellectuals,” a spokesman said.

In early March, Levy went to the eastern Libyan town of
Benghazi, days after its capture by rebel forces.

He met members of the just-formed National Transitional
Council and arranged for some of them to meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy
in Paris on March 10.

At the end of that meeting, which Levy attended, France
became the first country to recognize the provisional body as legitimate and to
call for targeted air strikes against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi forces.