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Olmert's Corruption Noose Tightens

September 04, 2008 10:18 AM

By Simon McGregor-Wood, ABC News

Israeli police are thinking of indicting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on corruption charge. Senior officers involved in the long running investigations are meeting today, and on Sunday will present their recommendations to the country’s senior law officer, Attorny General, Menachem Mazuz.

He has the final decision on whether to indict.

Israeli media said Thursday police believe they have enough evidence to indict Olmert in three separate investigations.

Olmert has already announced he will step down from office after his Kadlima Party elects a new leader on Sept 17th. He has continued to deny all allegations of wrongdoing.

He is accused of receiving illegal campaign donations, misusing his public office in making public appointments, and in making fraudulent travel expense claims for official trips abroad.

On Sunday Olmert will try to make it look like business as usual when he chairs the weekly cabinet meeting.

This week it will discuss a controversial plan to offer Jewish settlers living in the West Bank financial compensation if they return to Israel. The plan is the brainchild of Deputy Prime Minister Haim Ramon and is likely to cause heated debate within the government. Ramon says he believes up to 25 per centof Jewish settlers living in the West Bank want to pull out and return to the Israeli side of the controversial security barrier which is still under construction.

Removing tens of thousands of settlers is seen as an unavoidable challenge if a viable Palestinian state is to be established.

Olmert is also trying to forge ahead in the delicate peace talks with Syria regardless. The indirect talks were to have resumed this coming Sunday, but Syrian President Bashar Assad, currently hosting the French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Damascus, pulled the plug last night, citing the current political instability in Israel. The meeting will be rescheduled.

Next week Olmert is planning a trip to Moscow. He’ll meet with President Medvedev and Israeli media are reporting he will try to engage Russia in the Syrian peace process. This could be a red rag to Washington given its current frosty relationship with Russia. An important Middle East mediating role is probably not what the Bush administration has in mind for the Kremlin right now.

But Syria may well be happy to accept Moscow’s involvement. Assad wants third party mediation and has repeatedly called for U.S. involvement to underwrite the move toward direct negotiations. The United States has so far refused to get involved. Syria has enjoyed a strategic relationship with Russia for years which has included the sale of high-tech weapons. This has not been popular with Israel.

Tsipi Livni, the current foreign minister looks set to replace Olmert, either through the ballot box on the 17th or, with the assistance of a police indictment against him. It is still not clear how many of his policies she will try to pursue.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, now a Middle East special envoy is back in town on one of his monthly visits. But he is facing an embarrassing personal problem. His peace activist sister- in-law is trapped in Gaza, and so far, the Israelis won’t let her out. Lauren Booth is Cheire Blair’s sister and was part of an international team of activists who successfully broke the Israeli blockade of the Hamas run Gaza Strip. The team used two yachts to sail into Gaza’s fishing harbor two weeks ago. But the Israelis claim they won’t let her out, and into Israel, as she entered Gaza illegally.

I have a feeling some sort of diplomatic solution will be found.

September 4, 2008 in Simon McGregor-Wood | Permalink | User Comments (1)

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Posted by: daddyblue | Sep 4, 2008 6:40:16 PM

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