Labor official: We shouldn’t do a thing about Olmert
Party members unmoved by new suspicions against prime minister. 'It's all part of the same filth, and in any case the race for primaries in Kadima has begun,' a senior source says
"It's all part of the same filth," the official said. "In any event, a process for primaries in Kadima and for Olmert's replacement is underway, and therefore for the time being we shouldn’t do a thing and nothing will happen."
"We won't vote against the prime minister while he is abroad, and in any case, at the moment nothing should be done," a Labor minister said.
Earlier, Labor Knesset Members Ophir Pines-Paz and Shelly Yacimovich issued a joint statement Saturday, calling on the Kadima premiership candidates to oust Prime Minister Olmert immediately.
"It is unthinkable that the candidates sit idly and let a prime minister, who carried out such despised acts, to stay in office. Labor will honor the agreement it imposed on Kadima to oust Olmert, but now it is the turn of (Foreign Minister Tzipi) Livni, (Transportation Minister Shaul) Mofaz and their partners, who claim to be clean, to prove their commitment to the rule of law," the statement read.
Also Saturday, sources close to Olmert said, "We are witnessing an attempt to carry out a coup and oust a governing prime minister."
Olmert's associates harshly criticized the police, noting that the prime minister had worked for many years to raise funds totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars for the non-profit organizations associated with the affair.
According to the latest accusations, several organizations were asked to fund Olmert's official trips abroad in his previous posts, with the funds being used to pay for the flights of his relatives as well.
"Olmert did not take money from these bodies," an aide to the prime minister said. "All he took was $2,000 for expenses, which did not even cover his expenses during the trips he took in order to raise funds for the associations."
