November 28, 2008	Friday	Ziqa'ad 29, 1429

JERUSALEM, Nov 27: Israel’s acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert faced pressure from his own party on Thursday to step down following a decision to indict him in one of several graft cases over which police questioned him.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni led the call for Olmert to quit.

“The prime minister has to take a leave of absence; there’s no other choice,” said Livni, who hopes to become premier after February 10 elections.

“Israel cannot tolerate a situation where he is acting as prime minister after a decision to indict him. This is a moral test; this is a question of values and a practical test,” Livni said at a meeting of the governing Kadima party in Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv.

The centrist party’s parliamentary faction said it unanimously approved Livni’s statement.

Should Olmert declare himself incapacitated, party head Livni would take over as head of the caretaker government until a new government is formed after the elections.

Several other officials urged Olmert to quit the caretaker government.

Olmert presented his resignation in September but remains acting prime minister.

Attorney General Menachem Mazuz had notified Olmert on Wednesday that he “envisages pressing criminal charges over suspicions of wrongdoing.” The charges relate to allegations of multiple-billing for foreign trips at the time when Olmert was mayor of Jerusalem and then trade and industry minister.

Olmert, who took office as prime minister in 2006, is alleged to have used the ill-gotten gains to pay for private trips.

“It is a tragic day for the state of Israel,” Labour MP Ophir Pines Paz told journalists. “It is not acceptable that a person accused of a crime against the state should continue to hold the post of prime minister.” Olmert’s office made it clear he did not intend to step down as head of the caretaker government, stressing he already quit as prime minister.

“In these circumstances, there is no legal reason to announce a further resignation,” a statement said.

Mazuz’s announcement came just two months before the snap elections that were called after Livni failed to garner enough support in parliament to form a government following Olmert’s resignation.

Olmert’s camp was furious over the timing of the announcement, which came just as the caretaker premier was getting off his plane following a farewell visit to US President George Bush in Washington.

“This is a planned ambush under the auspices of the law enforcement authorities,” Olmert spokesman Amir Dan said.

Olmert’s lawyers described the prospect of charges in the case as “strange and even unreasonable.” Olmert could face charges of fraud, abuse of confidence, falsification of documents and making ill-gotten gains but no date has yet been set for him to be charged, the attorney general’s office said.

He has faced police questioning 10 times since May over a number of different allegations.—AFP