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Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom to US Ambassador Danny Ayalon: "With all due respect, three years is more than enough".
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| By israelinsider staff and partners May 22, 2005 |
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After a week of keeping quiet, Silvan Shalom told his side of the story on Channel 2's TV program "Meet the Press".
The foreign minister said that he would not extend Ambassador Ayalon's term in Washington.
"With all due respect, three years is more than enough. The prime minister has the right to change the head of the Shin Bet; the defense minister can replace the IDF chief of staff, and the foreign minister has similar rights," Shalom said.
This, despite the fact that Ayalon was appointed by Prime Minister Sharon, who would like to see Ayalon fulfill another term.
In the interview, Shalom nevertheless had trouble answering some of the questions regarding the Madonna-Peterzil scandal.
Asked if his wife attempted to fire diplomatic aide Liran Peterzil because he failed to arrange a meeting between her and Madonna, Shalom answered that he and his wife were not in the country when the pop star visited Israel.
"A producer from the Kabbalah Center responsible for the proposed meeting was quoted in this very studio as saying that she had called the foreign minister's office," Shalom said, "and was told that we would be abroad at the time."
When asked about alleged audiocassettes in Ambassador Danny Ayalon's possession that prove his assertion about Peterzil's attempted firing, Shalom attacked the nature of their taping.
"First of all, the fact that people are being taped is reason enough to denounce him. People who tape their supervisors have crossed a line, and they must be dealt with," Shalom said.
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