Israel Matzav

Olmert may fire Livni; Nasrallah calls on Olmert to resign

This just keeps getting stranger.

After Foreign Minister Tzipi Feigele Livni told a press conference an hour ago that she told Prime Minister Ehud K. Olmert that he should resign but that she would not vote no confidence in him, Olmert 'associate' Tal Zilberstein told Channel 10 news that Olmert would fire Livni because she repeated her recommendation to him to the media. And another unnamed Olmert aide said that Olmert told Livni he would fire him if she presented him with an ultimatum. You may recall that I wrote last night that Livni would threaten to quit if Olmert did not resign within a 'reasonable' time.

But in what has to be the weirdest story of the day, Hezbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said that Olmert must resign.

"I respected former prime minister Ariel Sharon but Prime Minister Ehud Olmert must quit," said Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah Wednesday at the opening of a book fair in a rebuilt south Beirut neighborhood complex that had been leveled by IAF warplanes during last summer's war.

Nasrallah described Sharon as someone who "led Israeli society," adding that Israel could not allow a leader like Olmert to continue.

"I will not gloat," he said. "It is worthy of respect that an investigative commission appointed by Olmert condemns him."

The Hizbullah leader went on to say that the Winograd report ended the argument about who won and lost the war.

"There are those in Israel who say they won and there are those who say they lost. This committee has concluded that they lost," he said, noting the word 'lost' appeared more than a hundred times in the report.

"The most important thing that Winograd has concluded is that Israelis say: 'We were defeated,'" exclaimed Nasrallah.

Nasrahllah also had a few choice words for 'defense minister' Amir Comrade Peretz:

"Peretz said that 'Nasrallah would never forget the name Amir Peretz.' I say to him, you were right, I will not forget that name."

Hezbullah supporters have been holding celebrations with fireworks displays in the streets since the report was issued. They have also put some new videos on their television station, al-Manar:

New clips were aired on Hizbullah-run and Syrian television channels showing rockets fired into Israel during the war and images of wounded IDF soldiers.

They also broadcast propaganda videos with the words: "Israel kills children" against the backdrop of wounded Lebanese kids.

Well, I have a video for Nasrallah and my kids claim this is one of the most popular songs in Israel (kids always know these things):



Maybe this will take my mind off Sweet Caroline for a while.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:33 PM