Weeks before he steps down from his position, possibly to enter politics, Israel's top soldier has been involved in a vicious war of words with the Prime Minister. To put it simply, the army chief-of-staff, Gen Amnon Shahak, has accused Mr Benjamin Netanyahu of lying.
The accusation itself is not at all new. President Mubarak of Egypt, King Hussein of Jordan, Israeli opposition politicians and disgruntled cabinet ministers have, at one time or another in the Prime Minister's two-year rule, suggested that Mr Netanyahu has been economical with the truth.
What is most unusual, however, is so angry and so public a dispute between two men who need to work closely if the country's security is to be safeguarded.
The row began at the start of the week when, during a cabinet meeting, Mr Netanyahu cut short Gen Shahak in mid-briefing to ministers. Mr Netanyahu later explained that Gen Shahak had strayed into issues beyond his remit and was telling the cabinet about French-Egyptian plans for an international conference to rescue the peace process - a clear political, non-military issue.
Infuriated, Gen Shahak penned a letter to Mr Netanyahu, noting that he had not been discussing the international conference but had been telling ministers about efforts in the Arab world to convene an Arab conference at which there could be calls for a freeze in all Arab relations with Israel.
This information was compiled from military intelligence sources and it was, according to Gen Shahak, appropriate that he include it in his briefing.
In a second letter to Mr Netanyahu, the chief-of-staff strongly implied that the Prime Minister had misled the public by giving an inaccurate account of what had transpired at the cabinet meeting.
Aides to Mr Netanyahu claimed yesterday that the text of the letters, and of the Prime Minister's responses, had been leaked from the office of the chief-of-staff and called Gen Shahak's behaviour "scandalous". Since he was set to retire next month, they said, it was clear that he was preparing the ground for his entry into politics.
An opinion poll published yesterday suggested that Gen Shahak might prove a dangerous opponent to Mr Netanyahu. The general outscored Mr Netanyahu by 47 per cent to 44 per cent.
AFP reports:
The Palestinians have called on the UN to stop Israel achieving its aim of boosting the Jewish majority in a "Greater Jerusalem" by incorporating Israeli townships into the disputed city. The PLO representative to the UN, Mr Nasser al-Kidwa, branded the Israeli plan as "illegal" and a violation of peace accords.