The countdown for Olmert has already started as mistrust mounts in "Israel"

Source: AFP, 13-05-2008
OCCUPIED 'JERUSALEM' (AL-QUDS): Police on Monday raided Occupied 'Jerusalem's' (al-Quds) municipal headquarters in search of documents in a corruption probe into Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as public mistrust mounted against the beleaguered leader. "The investigators conducted a raid at the al-Quds city hall and took documents linked to the investigation against the prime minister," police spokes-man Micky Rosenfeld said.
Olmert is suspected of having received funds illegally from a US businessman before he became premier in 2006. He was mayor of Occupied Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003.
An opinion poll on Monday showed a majority of 'Israelis' think Olmert should resign over the latest corruption investigation against him, the fifth such probe since he assumed office, though one case has been dismissed.
Fifty-nine percent of 'Israelis' want Olmert to step down and 60 percent do not believe his denial of any wrongdoing, according to the survey in the mass-selling Yediot Aharnot newspaper.
"It is possible Olmert's government will not finish its mandate," Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit told Public Radio earlier on Monday.
Olmert's term ends in November 2010, but there is increasing speculation he will be forced to step down or call early elections over the allegations he took bribes from a millionaire US financier.
Just 10 percent of the 500 'Israeli' adults interviewed for the poll thought Olmert was the best suited to be prime minister, with right-wing Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu getting the most support at 37 percent.
"The countdown for Olmert has started," said political analyst Akiva Eldar. "Even if he overcomes his current legal woes, for public opinion it stinks, and he will become a burden, not an asset, for his party." Uncertainty over Olmert's fate has also raised concerns about the future of the slow-moving peace process with the Palestinians.
And the claims of wrongdoing that emerged over the past week came at a particularly embarrassing time as US President George W. Bush was to head to the Middle East this week in honor of 'Israel's' 60th anniversary. Bush was scheduled to meet Olmert Wednesday and attend an official dinner at his 'Jerusalem' (al-Quds) residence Thursday.
The Justice Ministry says Olmert is alleged to have unlawfully received large amounts of money from US businessman Morris Talanksy in the 1990s, during his time as mayor of Occupied Jerusalem and as industry minister.
Olmert, who has been dogged by scandals since he took office in 2006, last week insisted he had never taken a bribe and said he would quit if indicted.
But he acknowledged that he had received what he said were legitimate financial contributions for various election campaigns from Talansky.
Talansky said on Sunday that he gave financial contributions to Olmert but insisted he had believed they were intended for legitimate purposes.
"I never thought in any way that the money I gave was illegal or wrong," the 75-year-old Jewish financier told 'Israel's' Channel 10 television in his first public comments on the scandal.
Ministers from Olmert's centrist Kadima Party have insisted the premier has the right to fight the latest suspicions of graft against him, and vowed the investigation will not disrupt the government. "The prime minister will overcome this affair," Housing Minister Zeev Boim said Sunday.