Gabriel Allon?

I've had many people ask me if David Slaton, the protagonist in The Perfect Assassin, is modeled after Daniel Silva's Gabriel Allon character. There are numerous similarities: both are Israeli assassins who work for a surly spymaster. The truth, however, is that we developed the character at essentially the same time. I began writing The Perfect Assassin in 1998, but it was not first published until 2005. The first Gabriel Allon book was, I believe, released in 2001, and I didn't actually read it until roughly two years later, at which point I was trying to sell the completed manuscript.
I have great respect for Silva's writing, and I think he is a class act. All the same, there are substantial differences between the characters and writing styles, and with the greater message behind the stories. Bottom line? With a hundred literary heroes out there who are former U.S. Special Forces, I think there must be room for two from Israel.