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On Thursday, July 28th, 2005, MK Uri Ariel’s office informed the press that the Knesset has formally delegated the Israel State Comptroller to launch a formal investigation into the allegations that Eival Giladi, appointed by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to coordinate public policies of Israel’s Disengagement process, remains in a situation of conflict of interests, since Giladi also administers the Portland Trust, whose task it is to raise half a billion dollars of capital to develop housing and business interests for Palestinian Arab interests who would replace the Jewish communities slated for eviction.
MK Ariel asked for a copy of the conflict of interests agreement which the PM office had announced on July 26th that Giladi had signed an hour before the Knesset Controls Committee had met on that same day.
However, the PM office would not provide a copy of Giladi’s supposedly signed agreement for the Knesset.
An examination of the official Knesset record of July 13th, 2005 finds that the government of Israel ad already misled the Knesset on this matter, when an Israeli government minister, Meir Shitrit, responded to MK Ariel’s questions about Giladi’s conflict of interest by saying that Giladi had already signed the conflict of interest agreement, which the PM office admitted on July 26th to the Knesset Committtee that he had not done so.
With disengagement public policy being coordinated by Giladi, the question remains as to whether Giladi will remain in his position and whether Giladi represents the tip of the iceberg of Israeli government conflicts of interest.
