Coalition ally demands Olmert step down

[Joanne98]

Source: Reuters

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Ehud Olmert's main coalition partner demanded on Wednesday the Israeli prime minister leave office over corruption allegations.

Olmert made clear through his aides that he was staying on. The furor surrounding the unpopular premier threatens to derail peace talks with the Palestinians.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak issued the call -- and raised the prospect of an early election -- a day after a U.S. businessman told an Israeli court how he had handed Olmert envelopes stuffed with thousands of dollars in cash.

"I do not think the prime minister can simultaneously run the government and deal with his own personal affair," said Barak, a former prime minister whose Labor party is Olmert's biggest partner in a fragile coalition government.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL2832915620080528

[fascisthunter]

1. That NeoCon Nut Should Have Stepped Down Long Ago