Political arena up in arms over PM probe

News of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s investigation for alleged bribery felonies stired up the political arena Friday, as MK Gideon Sa'ar, chairman of the Likud faction, urges Labor to resign.

“Olmert is the most suspected PM in Israel’s history, whose coalition is tied together with the largest number of criminal cases ever,” Sa’ar said, adding that “the party responsible for the survival and upkeep of this coalition is Labor, and as such, it should resign from the government at once, if it claims to represent Israel’s legal values and virtue.”

MK Zahava Gal-On (Meretz) called on Attorney General Menachem Mazuz to order Olmert to immediately suspend himself, pending the results of the recent invistigation against him.

"It is irresponsible, morally and politically for a man suspected of grave corruption to keep heading the State," she said.

MK Otniel Schneller (Kadima), an affiliate of Olmert’s, said on the latter’s interrogation under advisement by the National Fraud Unit, that he fully trusts the legal and investigation systems and advises all politicians to hold their tongues on the matter.

“Any comment made before a conclusion of the investigation or any other legal proceeding is reached, is akin to a political intervention in the systems’ calculations and is enough to inspire corruption,” said Schneller.

Chairman of the Knesset's Internal Affairs Committee, MK Ophir Pines told Ynet that “it is strange and unreasonable that the police kept  Olmert’s investigation from the public. It would have been more suitable had the announcement been advertised by a police spokesperson and not through some leak from one person or another.”

Pines added the police not revealing which affair is on the agenda, “is also sparks a question mark.”

Attila Somfalvi contributed to this report