Israel Matzav

The Left keeps the pressure on Olmert

The Left is keeping the pressure on Ehud Korruption Olmert this morning, with more than one hundred police officers conducting an unannounced raid on more than twenty government offices (both Israeli and Jerusalem) and law firms just after 8:00 this morning. What's left unsaid is to remind Olmert that if he doesn't make enough 'concessions' at Annapolis, jail awaits him on corruption charges. Most of this morning's raids relate to the massive 'discount' that Olmert received when purchasing his home on Kremieux Street in Jerusalem, and 'political appointments' made and 'favoritism' shown while he was the Minister of Industry and Trade. This comes on the heels of Saturday night's announcement by the controller of the Ministry of Finance Yaron Zalikha that he will resign next month upon the completion of the probe into Olmert's role in trying to fix a government auction of shares in Bank Leumi. Here are some of the places raided:

Searches were reportedly conducted in more than 20 sites, including the Industry, Trade, and Labor Ministry, the offices of the Israel Land Administration, the Jerusalem Municipality and the Israel Postal Company.

The raid was the first dramatic move by police since Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz decided to investigate the prime minister in the case of the house on Jerusalem's Cremieux Street and a number of suspicions pertaining to Olmert's tenure as Industry, Trade, and Labor minister.

The Industry, Trade and Labor cases comprise the Investment Center affair, in which Olmert is suspected of giving favorable treatment to his close friend and former law partner, Uri Messer, and the case of the Small and Medium Business Authority, in which he is suspected of making political appointments.

As soon as the raid was completed, a number of suspects would be taken in to be questioned under warning, NFC reported.

The real question is why today, and I think the answer is obvious. The State's Attorney's office is notoriously leftist. While those of you who are regular readers know that I have absolutely no sympathy for Olmert, it's clear to me that this raid has been timed to pressure him to make 'concessions' to the 'Palestinians.' Otherwise, the Left has no use for him and he can be thrown out of office.

Their theory is that if Olmert comes back from Annapolis with a deal, the public will be willing to let the scandals slide and they can quietly close the investigations. But if he doesn't give the 'Palestinians' enough to make a deal, there are more than enough corruption charges to keep Olmert out of politics - if not in jail - for a long time to come.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:25 AM