Last update - 00:00 08/11/2007
Barak and Olmert meet face-to-face to level working tensions
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak met Thursday evening for a personal tete-a-tete intended to smooth over tensions that have erupted regarding the working procedure for Olmert's weekly meetings with defense officials.
Last week, the Prime Minister's Bureau said that Olmert wanted his weekly meetings with Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi and Military intelligence Chief Amos Yadlin to be held behind closed doors, without the presence of Barak or any other representative from the defense ministry.
The defense ministry has insisted that a bureau representative be present during these meetings, which Olmert holds separately with each senior defense official.
Following the confrontation between the two sides, Barak demanded that all talks between senior IDF officials and the prime minister be brought to him for approval.
In response, Olmert instructed the Shin Bet security service and the Mossad intelligence agency - which are subordinate to the prime minister - not to send their representatives to briefings at the defense ministry.
Sources in the Prime Minister's Bureau said that Olmert and Barak spoke at lengths Thursday to find a common resolution to these working procedures.
The sources said the atmosphere of the meeting was positive, though they did not elaborate on whether any new procedures have been made on the matter. At Barak's briefing Thursday, representatives from both the Shin Bet and the Mossad were present.