Olmert fights for political life in bribery scandal
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was facing mounting calls yesterday to resign over a criminal probe into allegations he took bribes from a millionaire US financier.
Olmert has vehemently denied any wrongdoing but said he would quit if he is charged in a case that threatens to shake the political landscape at a crucial moment in Middle East peacemaking.
Pressure on the 62-year-old premier mounted after a gag order over the case was lifted on Thursday. The timing was particularly embarrassing for Olmert, coming as Israel celebrated its 60th anniversary and a week before a scheduled visit by US President George W. Bush.
Gideon Star, who heads the parliamentary group of the conservative opposition party Likud, said that "considering the seriousness of the suspicions that surround Olmert, he is no longer in a position to carry out his duties.”
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