Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian organization Hamas, has praised the Libyan Fatwa House for rejecting normalization with Israel.
Haniya held a phone conversation with Sheikh Al-Sadiq Al-Gharyani, the Grand Mufti of Libya, the group said on its website on Friday.
His phone call came after a secret meeting between Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Al-Manqoush and her Israeli counterpart in Rome last month came to light.
Hamas's leader commended the Libyan Fatwa House for following in the footsteps of Omar Al-Mukhtar's path and the Libyan resistance, which he said "stood with pride in confronting colonialism and continues to pass it down over generations".
He also applauded the Mufti's strong position towards the Palestinian cause, which "withstood the Zionist occupation attempts to penetrate the solid wall of Libya."
Haniya emphasized the importance of the Mufti's stance, as he is a religious figure whose opinions carry significant weight in official and unofficial circles.
For his part, the Mufti affirmed the consensus of the Libyan people on the Palestinian issue, deeming it a matter of religion and faith.
Supporting the Palestinian cause is an inevitable legitimate duty, the Mufti said, adding that the steps perpetrated by specific figures are absurd.
