JERUSALEM, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert said Thursday that he did not plan to suspend himself despite
possible indictment.
Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
attends the weekly cabinet meeting in his office in Jerusalem Nov. 16,
2008.(Xinhua/Reuters, File Photo) Photo
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Olmert made the remarks in response to Israel's
ruling Kadima chairwoman Tzipi Livni, who said earlier that Olmert should
suspend himself immediately in light of the indictment facing him over the
Rishon Tours scandal.
"I have important things to do," the premier, who has
just returned from a trip to the United States, was quoted by local news service
Ynet as saying after leaving a meeting he held on the financial crisis with
opposition chairman Benjamin Netanyahu and the coalition factions.
Olmert said he believed Livni and the Kadima Knesset
(parliament) members were taking advantage of the announcement made by Attorney
General Menachem Mazuz, who said he is considering indicting the premier on the
accusations against him in the RishonTours double-billing affair.
Meanwhile, Olmert's affiliates said Livni's interest
in putting herself on the prime minister's seat before the February general
election is what drove her to call for Olmert's suspension.
Earlier on Thursday, Livni, who is also the foreign
minister, convened an emergency meeting of Kadima to discuss the repercussions
of a possible indictment against Olmert, urging the premier to suspend himself
immediately.
"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 said.
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 general
election, because it would allow her to run from the Prime Minister's Office
against her main rivals, said The Jerusalem Post.
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."
On Wednesday, Mazuz told Olmert that he is
considering an indictment against the premier 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 by money 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.
However, 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 Israeli president Moshe
Katsav is anything to go by, Olmert's hearing should take place in about four
months, said The Jerusalem Post.
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. Full story
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
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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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
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
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
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
