Word: olmert
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...Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, according to a Tel Aviv-based intelligence official, is refusing to release any prisoners who aren't Hamas. (Hamas asked for freedom for members of other Palestinian factions, as well as foreign terror suspects in Israeli hands.) Apparently, Olmert wants to avoid Hamas being seen to gain legitimacy among the Palestinian public by securing prisoner releases, according to this source. To boost Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbbas in his struggle with Hamas, Olmert has vowed to release 250 of Fatah loyalists, a deal criticized by Palestinians as selfish on Abbas' part...
...Hamas offical says he doubts that the militant leadership would accept Israel's new terms, and he blamed Israel for attempting to "sabotage" the prisoner swap. Egyptian Intelligence Chief Suleiman was quoted in the Israeli press as telling Israeli leftist politicians recently that Olmert was "stalling" and must show some flexibility towards Hamas. The Israelis want their soldier freed, but are understandably reluctant to release a horde of potentially dangerous ex-terrorists...
...impasse arises because both Israel and Hamas believe that they hold the stronger hand and don't want to compromise. As canny observers of Israeli politics, Hamas knows that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert could use the freeing of Shalit to boost his plummeting popularity. Meanwhile, the Israelis reckon that Hamas could capitalize on the exchange of hundreds of prisoners as a way to improve their support among Palestinians, and their international standing. Israel and Western government slapped an economic blockade on 1.5 million Gaza residents now living under Hamas' rule, and it would help Hamas' standing if these sanctions were...
...infested with sleaze and corruption. Mazuz won respect for indicting ex-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's son for corruption in 2005, and for urging the resignation of Israel's Justice Minister in 2006 for forcefully kissing a young female soldier. Mazuz has also been investigating Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for allegedly suspect property deals; Olmert strenuously denies the allegations. Finance Minister Avraham Hirchson resigned on July 1 in the face of Mazuz's looming charges that he allegedly embezzled funds from a charity that sent kids on study tours of Holocaust camps in Poland. Hirchson has vowed to fight...
...After backtracking on Katsav, Mazuz will face tough scrutiny over the decision, due in the next few weeks, as to whether to indict the Prime Minister on charges of illegal property deals and conflict of interest. The prospect of scandal, along with Olmert's ill-conceived war in Lebanon last summer, have turned Israel against him. Polls give him a near-zero approval rating. Most Israelis are convinced that the current generation of political leaders lacks the idealism and honesty of the pioneering giants of the past. "Judging from their behavior, they have no shame," says former Justice Minister David...