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Early elections unlikely in Israel


Published: May 10, 2008 at 1:09 PM
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JERUSALEM, May 10 (UPI) -- Israeli lawmakers say it is unlikely there are enough votes in the Knesset to call an early election as pressure mounts on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to resign.

The lawmakers' Friday announcement came a day after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he planned to step down if he is indicted as a result of a recent investigation.

Most parties, opposition included, have said they are in favor of a stand-in government in the Knesset, the Jerusalem Post reported Saturday.

The Meretz party said Olmert should voluntarily step down from his duties and it planned to take action in the Knesset during the summer for the creation of a new coalition, the report said.

The GIL Pensioners Party and Shas said they did not plan to support a premature election.

Labor Secretary-General Eitan Cabel said Labor officials had to rethink their stance in the coalition as details regarding Olmert's investigation come to light.

Israel has already entered a post-Olmert political era as the prime minister grapples with bribery allegations, sources told The New York Times. The "overwhelming view in Israel" is acceptance that Olmert's political career has all but ended, despite his declaration of innocence in an investigation linking him to payments from New York businessman Morris Talansky, the newspaper said.

Olmert says the payments were legal campaign contributions and that he will be vindicated.

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OLMERT CIVILIAN VICTIMS MEMORIAL
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert looks up as sirens signal a two-minute silence for war dead and terror victims at the start of the state Memorial Day ceremony at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem on May 7, 2008. The Israeli leader is at the center of a bribery scandal, with the New York Post naming American financier Morris Talansky as having passed cash to Olmert when he was mayor of Jerusalem in the 1990's. (UPI Photo/David Silverman/POOL)
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