· Scandal threatens peace talks with Hamas
* Toni O'Loughlin in Jerusalem
* The Guardian,
* Saturday May 10 2008
Ehud Olmert faced pressure from colleagues and political rivals to resign yesterday after police released details of a corruption investigation into the Israeli prime minister, the fifth such inquiry since he replaced Ariel Sharon in 2006.
Olmert is suspected of illegally receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars from the US financier and political donor Morris Moshe Talansky, and possibly other foreigners, beginning in 1993 when he first ran to be Jerusalem's mayor and later when appointed as minister of industry, trade and labour in Sharon's government.
While Sharon also weathered bribery allegations as prime minister, only to be forced from the helm by a massive stroke, Olmert's colleagues and rivals are growing increasingly nervous about the number of scandals that now dog him.
Ronit Tirosh, a member of Olmert's centrist Kadima party, said she wanted "very much to believe him" but was uncomfortable about the investigation.
The National Religious party, which has been at loggerheads with Olmert over the freezing of settlement construction in the West Bank ,said the scandal was diverting attention from running the country.
While senior Labour members such as Ehud Barak, who is defence minister in Olmert's coalition government, remained silent, others said their party must withdraw. "Labour cannot remain in the same coalition with a prime minister tarnished by such deep corruption," Shelly Yacimovich, a Labour MP, said. Labour's departure, although a remote possibility for now, would bring down the government and would be likely to force elections, which are not due until 2010.
Polls carried out since late last year suggest the contest would return the rightwing Likud party to government with Binyamin Netanyahu at the helm.
The scandal also threatens to derail the Egyptian-sponsored ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel as well as demolishing peace talks with the Palestinian Authority, which have already become bogged down with little hope of reaching a conclusion by the end of the year.
Olmert's relationship with Talansky began with the mayoral run in 1993. "Talansky assisted me in raising money," Olmert said in a statement to the media, adding that he received further help during another run for Jerusalem mayor in 1998. Talansky is also reported to have helped financially in Likud's internal 2002 elections before Olmert, led by Sharon, quit the party to form Kadima.
Talansky has been summoned to testify and on Thursday the state prosecutor, Moshe Lador, told the court that the Long Island financier "has expressed his concern to police that Olmert might send someone to hurt him".
Police are also investigating the roles of Olmert's friend, lawyer and former business partner Uri Messer, who is reported to be cooperating with the inquiry. Olmert, who has denied any wrongdoing, told the media on Thursday that Messer handled all the money but said that he believed the funds were handled properly.
They have also been questioning Olmert's longstanding chief of staff, Shula Zaken, who was previously dismissed from her job for inappropriate appointments to the tax office. However, Zaken has refused to answer questions and has been placed under house arrest.