Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said Friday that UNESCO handed Ambassador Nimrod Barkan a protest note saying the cartoon "endangers the lives of unarmed diplomats."

The cartoon was published last week in the daily Haaretz.

It depicts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with pilots before a hypothetical attack on Iran, telling them to target UNESCO on their way back.

It's a jab at Netanyahu's displeasure over the UN culture agency's recent recognition of the Palestinians as a member state.

Palmor said Friday that Barkan told UNESCO that Israel has a free press and can't control what it publishes.

Palestine became a full member of UNESCO on Oct. 31 in a historic vote that cost the agency a fifth of its budget. The United States said the move harmed renewed Mideast peace efforts and the US government cut off tens of millions of dollars in annual funding to the organization.