Finance Minister and Vice Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was officially designated as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's temporary replacement Wednesday night, after Sharon suffered a massive stroke.
He is set to convene a cabinet meeting Thursday morning at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem.
"The purpose of the meeting is to continue with an appropriate government sequence in light of the expectations that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will not be able to return to his role for a long period of time," a senior government official said.
Attorney General Menachem Mazuz will also attend the meeting.
Olmert is currently staying at his home and receiving direct updates on the prime minister's condition from Cabinet Secretary Yisrael Maimon.
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| Sharon suffers cerebral hemorrhage / Shani Mizrahi |
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Sharon undergoes emergency surgery at Jerusalem's Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital; medical official says PM suffered 'significant stroke' and is being ventilated and anesthetized. Olmert designated as temporary replacement |
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Olmert does not plan to convene the government at present, and is awaiting developments in the situation. He may address the press later tonight.
In light of Wednesday's dramatic developments, the Shin Bet has decided to boost security around Olmert and maintain the strict security arrangements as long as he holds the prime minister's post.
Legal clause places Olmert as replacement
The possibility that Sharon may lose the capacity to function has not been placed on the agenda in earnest in recent weeks as Sharon was in good condition following his recent stroke.
Israel's Basic Law: The Government states that "if the prime minister is temporarily prevented from fulfilling his duties, he will be replaced by the vice premier. In the event the prime minister fails to regain capacity to function within 100 days, he will be considered unable to fulfill the post altogether."
The legal clause means that as long as the PM is anesthetized, Ehud Olmert, the vice prime minister, will replace him.
The law further states that if the prime minister is prevented from functioning for more than a 100 days, than elections are declared. Since elections have already been scheduled for the end of March, this clause is irrelevant.
Throughout Israel's history, a prime minister was replaced by his deputy twice, in both cases when the prime minister passed away while in office.
The first time was in February 1969, when Prime Minister Levi Eshkol died and was replaced by Vice Prime Minister Yigal Alon.
The second time was on November 4th 1995, after Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was murdered. Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres stepped in to fill the post immediately after Rabin's death.
Efrat Weiss contributed to the report
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