Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has suspended senior Defense Minister official Amos Gilad following his remarks to the media last week.

Gilad was responsible for the shuttle diplomacy between Israel and Egypt towards arranging for a ceasefire agreement with Hamas in Gaza, lifting the embargo on Gaza crossings and most importantly, arranging for the release of Gilad Shalit.

Olmert recently lashed out at Gilad with an unprecedented criticism surrounding a recent interview that he granted to Maariv in which he used difficult and judgmental terms to describe the prime minister’s policies. Olmert responded with anger, accusing Gilad of betraying him and the administration, which have given him unquestionable support throughout the process.

The Defense Ministry is also filing a complaint against Gilad with civil service officials for granting the interview and publically making statements deemed unacceptable for a senior civil servant.

Sources in the Defense Ministry report that despite the suspension, Gilad continues his involvement in the Egyptian-mediated talks.

Since the National Security Cabinet voted to place the release of Gilad Shalit at the top of its agenda, talks with Egypt on all fronts have broken down. While humanitarian aid is permitted into Gaza daily, the crossing points controlled by Israel remain closed and Israel remains unwilling to lift the embargo until Shalit is released.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)