Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon sent his son, Omri, to have talks with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat Thursday because of fears the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would worsen, the daily Haaretz said Friday.
Quoting a senior Israeli political official, the paper said Omri Sharon had met Arafat in the West Bank town of Ramallah but gave no details of their talks.
Palestinian and Israeli official sources could not confirm the meeting, when contacted by AFP.
The meeting is the first to be reported since Israel's Supreme Court on May 4 Sunday ordered strict curbs on private contacts between Sharon's son and the Palestinians, a judicial source said.
The court decided that Omri Sharon, 36, who holds no office in his father's government, can only meet with Arafat with the approval of the government's legal counsel, Attorney General Eliakim Rubinstein.
Such missions should be of an exceptional nature, the court ruled.
Haaretz said Rubinstein had given his approval to Thursday's meeting.
Last Friday, Rafi Peled, the director-general of the Sharon’s office, announced his resignation.
"The decision was made as a consequence of differences of opinion and disagreement between myself and the prime minister regarding the appointment of personnel who would serve under me in the office," Peled said at a press conference.
"Over time, we tried to reach an understanding on the matter, but because we didn't, I had no choice but to offer my resignation," the paper quoted him as saying.
He added: "It is clear to me, as a professional who came to do a job and contribute to the country, that a professional and good team is required. Because I was not given that team, I had to resign."
Israel Radio has reported that senior officials in Sharon’s office had said that Peled's resignation was due to disputes between the director-general and Omri, as well as Chief of Staff Uri Shani.
The sources stressed, however, that the three had worked well together at the beginning of Sharon's term of office, but that recently Peled had begun to disapprove of the way in which Omri Sharon and Shani were handling matters, and had therefore decided to resign – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
