Libya's Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush has fled the country to Turkey after mass protests erupted over her meeting with Israel's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen in Rome, the first ever meeting between high-ranking representatives from the two countries.

The two countries held the "historic" meeting under the auspices of the Italian foreign minister to discuss the possibility of establishing relations between the two countries and the possibility of Israel providing humanitarian assistance to Libya, according to Channel 12 News in Israel.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said that Hamas "appreciates the official and popular Libyan position of rejecting the Libyan foreign minister's meeting with the foreign ministry of the Zionist entity.”

Meanwhile, Islamic Jihad said that they are “confident that the fraternal Libyan people do not accept such meetings, and they are a free people who reject normalization and will not be politically blackmailed or compromised on their firm position on the Palestinian cause, despite the harsh internal conditions that Libya is going through."

Cohen said that Libya's size and location make the establishment of diplomatic relations of "great importance and enormous potential for the State of Israel."

He added that he is holding a series of similar meetings in a bid to persuade other Middle Eastern countries to normalize ties with Israel.