The Libyan Attorney General said on Saturday that he will form a fact-finding mission to investigate last month's meeting between the foreign minister of one of the rival governments in the country and Israel's top diplomats.

The meeting on August 22 caused a stir across the North African state and in Israel, where Najlaa al-Manqoush, the foreign minister of the government based in Tripoli, met with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen in Rome in the first ever meeting between senior Libyan diplomats and Israel.

Hours after Cohen's office issued a statement revealing the meeting last Sunday, Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah dismissed al-Manqoush from her position, stating that an investigation committee would be formed to look into the meeting, which prompted her to flee the country out of fear for her safety.

Libya criminalizes establishing relations with Israel under the 1957 law and has long been hostile toward Israel while supporting Palestinians.

In a third statement on Saturday, Attorney General Al-Siddiq Al-Sour said, "The fact-finding mission will investigate violations of Libyan rules against boycotting Israel and examine the extent of harm to Libya's interests due to al-Manqoush's meeting with Cohen."

Two senior Libyan government officials previously told the Associated Press that Dbeibah was aware of the talks between his foreign minister and the Israeli minister. One official stated that the Libyan Prime Minister had given his approval for the meeting, while the second said that al-Manqoush informed the Prime Minister about it after her return to Tripoli.

The second official also said that Dbeibah had given his initial approval to join the Abraham Accords brokered by the United States, but he was concerned about public backlash in a country that has strong support for the Palestinian cause. In his first public remarks since Cohen announced the secret meeting, Dbeibah rejected on Thursday the possibility of normalizing relations with Israel.

Dbeibah said during a ministerial meeting broadcast on state television, “We affirm our rejection of any form of normalization, long live Libya, long live Palestine, and long live the Palestinian cause in all our hearts,” and he referred to al-Manqoush by saying, “Unfortunately, there was someone in the government acting independently.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was also aware in advance of the Rome meeting, according to reports from Israeli media, which confirmed analysts' belief that it was unlikely that al-Manqoush or Cohen would hold the unprecedented meeting without informing the Prime Minister.

In a clear attempt to distance himself from the backlash, Netanyahu issued a directive on Tuesday requiring his office's approval for all secret diplomatic gatherings, and demanded that the green light be granted first for the announcement of any secret diplomatic meetings by the Prime Minister's office.

Channel 12 quoted an unnamed source in the Mossad as saying that by revealing the meeting, Cohen had caused serious damage to relationships that had formed in recent years, adding, “He has burned the bridge, it's something that cannot be repaired.”

The Israeli Foreign Ministry initially responded on Monday with a statement that attempted to shift responsibility for Cohen's announcement by claiming he intended to preempt an imminent release in the Hebrew media of a leaked report on the meeting, which neither his office nor the ministry was behind.

Cohen criticized the uproar that occurred on Monday night, and criticized "political opponents who have not achieved any significant accomplishments" due to their "rush to respond without knowing the details."

Libya has plunged into chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. For years, the country has been divided between the Western-backed government in Tripoli and the rival administration in the east of the country.

Each side is supported by armed groups and foreign governments.