Special report: Palestine-Israel
Relations
JERUSALEM, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Israel's ruling Kadima chairwoman Tzipi Livni Thursday
urged Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to suspend himself immediately in light of the
indictment facing him over the Rishon Tours scandal.
Livni, who is also the foreign minister, convened an emergency meeting of Kadima on Thursday to discuss the repercussions of a potential indictment against Olmert.
"Kadima was formed to wave the banner of clean governance," Livni was quoted by local daily The Jerusalem Post as saying at the meeting at Kadima's Petah Tikva headquarters. "The prime minister like anyone else in Israel is innocent until proven guilty, but citizen Olmert should fight from his home and not from the position of prime minister."
"Israel cannot tolerate having a prime minister who has been indicted. It is a moral, ethical and practical test. The prime minister must suspend itself. There is no other option," she continued.
If Olmert, who resigned in September over corruption probe and became a caretaker premier, would suspend himself, Livni would automatically take over as acting prime minister due to her position as vice premier.
Such a move would benefit Livni ahead of the Feb. 10 general election, because it would allow her to run from the Prime Minister's Office against former prime ministers Binyamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak, said The Jerusalem Post.
Recent polls have indicated a close match between Kadima and Likud, the main opposition party led by Netanyahu.
In response to Livni's comments, Olmert's spokesman Amir Dan reiterated that the caretaker premier had no intention of suspending himself.
Mark Regev, also Olmert's spokesman, said in September after Olmert's resignation that even if Olmert would be indicted during the caretaking period, he would not resign again.
"The politicians who are calling upon him to quit are doing so for political reasons," Dan told Israel Radio. "All the people who say they are calling upon him to quit based on what is good for the country should want him to stay in power because he is the only one who can run the country without regard to political considerations."
Israeli Attorney General Menachem Mazuz told Olmert on Wednesday that he is considering indicting him for allegedly using state funds from multiple state bodies to finance private trips abroad.
In the double-billing affair, which is also known as the Rishon Tours affair, named after the travel agency, Olmert was alleged for paying for both of his own and his family's private flights bymoney obtained fraudulently from public bodies when serving as Jerusalem mayor and then as industry, trade and labor minister from 2003 to 2006.
Olmert might face charges of fraud, breach of trust, falsifying corporate records, failure to report an income and receiving illegal benefits, to which an aggravated circumstances clause applies.
Mazuz made his decision a few weeks ago but preferred to wait until Olmert returned from his just-completed U.S. trip, said local daily Ha'aretz.
The decision by Mazuz to indict Olmert still depends on the outcome of a hearing between Mazuz and Olmert and his lawyers, the Justice Ministry said Wednesday in a statement, adding that the hearing would be held at a time agreed upon by both sides.
If the experience of former
president Moshe Katsav is anything to go by, Olmert's hearing should take
place in about four months, according to The Jerusalem
Post.
Israel's Livni calls for early general
election
JERUSALEM, Oct. 26
(Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister-designate Tzipi Livni, also ruling Kadima
chairwoman, announced on Sunday that she failed to form a coalition and called
for early general elections.
Livni, also Israel's foreign minister, made the
announcement at a press conference held at the president's residence in
Jerusalem, where she arrived at 5 p.m. (1500 GMT) to meet with Israeli President
Shimon Peres. Full story
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Israeli Prime Minister-designate Tzipi
Livni, also ruling Kadima chairwoman, speaks to the media after meeting
with Israeli President Shimon Peres at the later's residence in Jerusalem,
Oct. 26, 2008. Livni told Israeli President Shimon Peres on Sunday that
she failed to form a coalition and called for an early general election.
(Xinhua Photo)
Photo
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Livni: Israel-PNA dialogue important
to national interests
JERUSALEM,
Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Tuesday that the
peace talk between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) is
important for Israel's long-term national and security interests. Full story
Israel's possible political
developments after Livni's failure to form coalition
JERUSALEM, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Foreign Minister
Tzipi Livni, also ruling Kadima chairwoman, told Israeli President Shimon Peres
on Sunday that she failed to form a coalition and called for early general
elections. Full story
Livni: Israel-PNA dialogue important
to national interests
JERUSALEM,
Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Tuesday that the
peace talk between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) is
important for Israel's long-term national and security interests. Full story
Livni distances herself from Olmert's
comments on 1967 border
JERUSALEM, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Foreign Minister
Tzipi Livni said Tuesday that she would not committed to the outgoing Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert's assertion that Israel needs to return to its pre-1967
borders. Full story
