Israel's High Court of Justice on Friday will deliberate the petition presented by the Meretz Party challenging the role of Omri Sharon, son of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, in recent meetings with Palestinian Authority leaders, reported Haaretz newspaper on Wednesday.
The court's judge, Edmond Levy, refused to issue an interim injunction forbidding the assignment of diplomatic missions to Omri Sharon until a decision is reached on the petition.
Levy said the prime minister had announced that his son's missions would be curbed until the court ruled on the matter.
The younger Sharon, who played a major role in his father's election campaign, has no official government function, but has been dispatched by his father on several occasions to meet with Palestinian leaders, including President Yasser Arafat, his number-two man Abu Mazen, and others.
During a telephone conversation with AFP, Omri Sharon refused to comment on his diplomatic role, saying he feared such comments could be used to harm his efforts.
The younger Sharon's dispatch has drawn fire from disparate camps, including a harsh rebuke from Israel's attorney general, Eliyakim Rubenstein.
"This is an unacceptable act," Rubinstein said, cited by Haaretz newspaper on Tuesday.
"One cannot act as if the government is your personal domain. Sending a family member on diplomatic missions is not consistent with clean government."
Labor MP Ophir Pines-Paz also criticized the elder Sharon, saying it was inappropriate to use family members for diplomatic tasks in a democracy, according to the paper.
"If Arafat was to send his wife to hold diplomatic talks in Israel, we would all explode with laughter," Pines-Paz told Haaretz - Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
