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Barak cancels Madrid visit amid dispute over UNIFIL leadership
By Barak Ravid

Defense Minister Ehud Barak's cancellation of his planned visit to Madrid this Wednesday is not related to the tension between Israel and Spain over the leadership of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Haaretz has learned.

A senior government official said the trip was suspended due to a schedule change, after Barak was asked to accompany Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington.
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Earlier this month, Netanyahu secretly asked Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to keep his country in charge of the United Nations force in Lebanon, rather than handing control to Spain as planned, causing chagrin in Madrid.

Following speculation over the cancellation, Barak called the Spanish foreign minister and explained that the trip was canceled because he will be joining Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington next week. Barak's bureau said the response to the cancellation was gracious.

However, the government source said: "No one in Madrid believes the cancellation is unconnected to the tension surrounding UNIFIL.

In making the request, Netanyahu sided with the Israel Defense Forces' argument that Israel should try to keep Italy's Major General Claudio Graziano in charge of UNIFIL for at least six months beyond when his term is set to end, in a few weeks.

The IDF said that though there was no problem with the Spanish command of UNIFIL in general, the situation in Lebanon is very sensitive at this time and replacing the UNIFIL commander now could cause coordination difficulties and destabilize the situation.

However, the Foreign Ministry is reportedly against intervention in the matter so as not to insult the other European countries participating in UNIFIL.
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