Israel: Official unaware he was meeting French far-rightist

JERUSALEM – Israel’s Health Ministry says a top official who recently met with the secretary general of France’s far-right political party was unaware of the person’s identity — and the meeting was stopped once it became clear.

Health Ministry Spokesman Eyal Basson says Saturday the ministry’s deputy director general attended a meeting billed as focused on medical co-operation and did not know Nicolas Bay represented the National Front. Basson says within five minutes the meeting was halted

Israel has no official ties to the party because of its far-right ideology and history of anti-Semitism. Party leader Marine Le Pen is a leading presidential candidate in the upcoming election.

Bay tweeted photos of his meetings with various Israeli officials. Those with an army colonel and the Health Ministry official were later deleted.

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