takeo
10-31-2003, 01:59 PM
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=355231&contrassID=1&subContrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y
By Aluf Benn, Amos Harel and Uzi Benziman and the Agencies
"A source associated with Foreign Minister Silvan
Shalom said Thursday that Shalom was in agreement
with Israel Defense Forces chief Moshe Ya'alon's
statements regarding the need to substantially
ease restrictions on the Palestinian population in
the territories, Army Radio reported.
However, the source added that
the way Ya'alon worded his
statements may have been
problematic.
The radio also quoted Trade
and Industry Minister Ehud
Olmert as saying that
Ya'alon's stand was
legitimate and that he should
be able to express his opinions in the
appropriate manner.
European officials were puzzled that the IDF
chief, who is generally expected to present a
hawkish viewpoint, expresses views that are
more rational, humanistic and moralistic than
the government's, Israel Radio reported
Thursday.
Senior officials close to Ya'alon suggested
earlier that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's
aides, in advising him to criticize the IDF
Chief of Staff, were trying to divert public
attention away from Sharon's police questioning
on bribery suspicions due to take place
Thursday, Army Radio reported.
The Prime Minister's Office said that Sharon
will make do with the meeting held between
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and Ya'alon on
Wedneday and will take no further action in the
matter, Israel Radio reported Thursday.
Sharon spoke Wednesday with Mofaz, and expressed
his anger at comments made by Ya'alon, who was
quoted in the Wednesday editions of several
newspapers as backing criticism of the
government's policy toward the Palestinians.
Ya'alon said that Israel's treatment of former
Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas was
mistaken, and that Israel contributed to the
fall of the Palestinian government by not
making enough good-will gestures. The Prime
Minister's Office was furious at the Chief of
Staff's comments, calling the comments
"extremely serious."
One source in the PMO said that, given the
severity of the comments, Ya'alon's only way
out would be to apologize or resign. "Ya'alon
never made his opinion known in any of the
discussions that we held, and despite the fact
that every door remains open to him, he chose
to speak to the press. Beyond that, his claims
are not correct."
Another source in Jerusalem said that Ya'alon
had never advocated more concessions for
Palestinians. "Why criticize the political
echelons," the source said, "when it merely
carried out the army's recommendations? During
Abbas' tenure as prime minister, Ya'alon did
not back those top officers who advocated
relaxing the curfews, but backed the more
hard-line approach put forward by the head of
the Shin Bet, Avi Dichter."
So far, Mofaz has not taken any action in
response to the incident. After the meeting
between Mofaz and Ya'alon, IDF spokeswoman
Brig. Gen. Ruth Yaron issued a statement in
which she stressed that "no uniformed officer
has expressed criticism of the government. The
articles reflect fundamental deliberations
within the army, in light of a complex
reality." Yaron added that "the IDF is
subordinate to the political echelons, and
carries out its orders exactly."
Sources in the Prime Minister's Office and the
Defense Ministry were up in arms on Wednesday
morning, following the publication of the
quotes. The articles were another stage in the
ongoing tensions between Mofaz and the IDF's
top brass, although Wednesday's publication was
seen as a direct attack by the IDF on the
government's policy. "
sounds like Sharon's policy is even being criticised by his most ardent supporters and allies...
By Aluf Benn, Amos Harel and Uzi Benziman and the Agencies
"A source associated with Foreign Minister Silvan
Shalom said Thursday that Shalom was in agreement
with Israel Defense Forces chief Moshe Ya'alon's
statements regarding the need to substantially
ease restrictions on the Palestinian population in
the territories, Army Radio reported.
However, the source added that
the way Ya'alon worded his
statements may have been
problematic.
The radio also quoted Trade
and Industry Minister Ehud
Olmert as saying that
Ya'alon's stand was
legitimate and that he should
be able to express his opinions in the
appropriate manner.
European officials were puzzled that the IDF
chief, who is generally expected to present a
hawkish viewpoint, expresses views that are
more rational, humanistic and moralistic than
the government's, Israel Radio reported
Thursday.
Senior officials close to Ya'alon suggested
earlier that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's
aides, in advising him to criticize the IDF
Chief of Staff, were trying to divert public
attention away from Sharon's police questioning
on bribery suspicions due to take place
Thursday, Army Radio reported.
The Prime Minister's Office said that Sharon
will make do with the meeting held between
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and Ya'alon on
Wedneday and will take no further action in the
matter, Israel Radio reported Thursday.
Sharon spoke Wednesday with Mofaz, and expressed
his anger at comments made by Ya'alon, who was
quoted in the Wednesday editions of several
newspapers as backing criticism of the
government's policy toward the Palestinians.
Ya'alon said that Israel's treatment of former
Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas was
mistaken, and that Israel contributed to the
fall of the Palestinian government by not
making enough good-will gestures. The Prime
Minister's Office was furious at the Chief of
Staff's comments, calling the comments
"extremely serious."
One source in the PMO said that, given the
severity of the comments, Ya'alon's only way
out would be to apologize or resign. "Ya'alon
never made his opinion known in any of the
discussions that we held, and despite the fact
that every door remains open to him, he chose
to speak to the press. Beyond that, his claims
are not correct."
Another source in Jerusalem said that Ya'alon
had never advocated more concessions for
Palestinians. "Why criticize the political
echelons," the source said, "when it merely
carried out the army's recommendations? During
Abbas' tenure as prime minister, Ya'alon did
not back those top officers who advocated
relaxing the curfews, but backed the more
hard-line approach put forward by the head of
the Shin Bet, Avi Dichter."
So far, Mofaz has not taken any action in
response to the incident. After the meeting
between Mofaz and Ya'alon, IDF spokeswoman
Brig. Gen. Ruth Yaron issued a statement in
which she stressed that "no uniformed officer
has expressed criticism of the government. The
articles reflect fundamental deliberations
within the army, in light of a complex
reality." Yaron added that "the IDF is
subordinate to the political echelons, and
carries out its orders exactly."
Sources in the Prime Minister's Office and the
Defense Ministry were up in arms on Wednesday
morning, following the publication of the
quotes. The articles were another stage in the
ongoing tensions between Mofaz and the IDF's
top brass, although Wednesday's publication was
seen as a direct attack by the IDF on the
government's policy. "
sounds like Sharon's policy is even being criticised by his most ardent supporters and allies...