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del.icio.us Digg It!  new Last update - 03:17 19/10/2007 Comptroller to decide if cabinet can fire accountant general By Yuval Yoaz, Haaretz Correspondent State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss said Thursday he was considering whether to allow the cabinet to fire Accountant General Yarom Zelekha or grant him permanent protection from dismissal. Zelekha uncovered the Bank Leumi affair in which Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is being investigated, and is considered a steadfast fighter against corruption. But some senior officials have criticized him for being overly combative and slowing work at the Finance Ministry. A Advertisement ttorney General Menachem Mazuz has asked the comptroller to revoke an interim order preventing the cabinet from dismissing Zelekha. Lindenstrauss said he would consider the request and make a decision by mid-November. Mazuz cited as the reason for his request the adamant positions of Finance Ministry Director General Yarom Ariav and other senior treasury officials, who last week held a press conference calling for Zelekha's immediate dismissal. Ariav said at the press conference that Zelekha's conduct was "severely harming the ministry's work and consequently Israel's economy." Ariav's remarks were a direct response to the order that Lindenstrauss had issued the previous day, preventing the cabinet from appointing a replacement for Zelekha. Lindenstrauss issued the order protecting Zelekha from dismissal because of his role in "exposing corruption." In Mazuz's letter, he quoted Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer as saying that Zelekha's continued employment as accountant general was endangering Israel's economy. Mazuz added that the problematic professional relationship between Zelekha and other senior treasury officials had been building up for a long time. "It appears to me that there is no escaping the conclusion that the interest in protecting a worker who [exposes corruption] must take second place to the public interest to ensure the proper function of the body he works for," Mazuz wrote to Lindenstrauss. Mazuz wrote that he himself had prevented a number of attempts to oust Zelekha from office, for fear this would be seen as a reaction to the latter's complaints against corruption. However, he noted, the complaints are being examined and Zelekha's contract has come to an end. Zelekha said in a radio interview last week that Mazuz was a "weak man, and that's the reason he was appointed." He said Mazuz's sister, attorney Yemima Mazuz, the treasury's legal adviser, "shut her eyes" to what he called improper procedures during the sale of Bank Leumi. Bookmark to del.icio.us Death's donation Israelis' willingness to donate their organs and save lives nears the bottom of the list. Fallen soldier 20-year-old Ben Kubany was killed duriong an IDF action in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.   1.   Suddenly practicalities supercede lofty legal principles? 05:43  |  Nili 19/10/07

Today Online Egypt accuses IDF troops of aiding arms smuggling into Gaza Responses: 174 'Army does nothing to stop settler violence against Palestinians' Responses: 192 Zionist rabbis agree to serve on independent conversion courts Responses: 57 On Moscow visit, PM urges Putin to back new sanctions on Iran Responses: 204 Israel Harel: Abbas will play the victim, and Israel will foot the bill Responses: 63 Haaretz.com TV: Two Iraqi children undergo heart surgery in Israel Responses: 62 Rosner's Domain * WTR: The amazing story of Abe Lincoln and the Jews * Guest: Should the Saudis attend Annapolis? * Announcing Annapolis was a mistake * McCain faired better than Giuliani on Iran (The Israel Factor) More Headlines 05:47 PM Olmert urges Putin to back new Iran sanctions 05:46 Bomb attack targeting Bhutto's caravan kills 126 in Pakistan 05:05 UN envoy: Lebanese claim to Shaba Farms area has merit 05:16 Pentagon: U.S. to build 'strategic partnership' with Lebanese army 05:17 President calls for more inclusive definition of Judaism 03:17 Comptroller to decide if cabinet can fire accountant general 21:12 Top IDF officer censured over use of 'human shields' in Nablus 22:15 Winograd Committee to publish final war report by end of year 23:24 FM Tzipi Livni condemns Belarusian President's anti-Semitic remarks Previous Editions Select Day 18 oct 17 oct 16 oct 15 oct 14 oct 12 oct 11 oct 10 oct 09 oct 08 oct 07 oct 05 oct

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