Olmert quizzed again on corruption charges, leaks about Israeli agreement with Syria more likely than with Palestinians

Israeli agreement with Syria more likely than with Palestinians

Date: 23 / 05 / 2008 Time: 13:02
Bethlehem - Ma'an -

The Israeli occupation government has reached the conclusion that the possibility of reaching a peace deal with Syria is more likely than an agreement with the Palestinians, the Israeli daily newspaper Ha'aretz said on Friday.

According to Ha'aretz, the implementation of any Israeli-Syrian agreement will happen faster than the implementation of an Israeli-Palestinian agreement.

There are a number of factors indicating this, the newspaper says. Disagreements with Syria lie in territorial issues. Syria is demanding the return of the Golan Heights, whereas the Palestinians' demands and the complicated and deep disagreements regarding a number of issues require concessions from both sides.

Moreover, the separation and fragmentation taking place in the internal Palestinian political arena, resulting from the isolation of the Gaza Strip from the West Bank and the purported weakness of the Palestinian Authority leadership differ from the Syrian central government system.

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has much greater authority in his country which would facilitate the implementation of any agreement.

Israeli police quiz Olmert a second time on corruption allegations

Date: 23 / 05 / 2008 Time: 11:59
Bethlehem - Ma'an -

Israeli police on Friday questioned Israeli occupation government prime minister Ehud Olmert for the second time on allegations of corruption.

He is suspected of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from a foreign businessman for his election campaign.

Olmert has admitted he received campaign donations from US business tycoon Morris Talansky, who also made substantial financial contributions to former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government. However, Olmert denies this constitutes taking bribes.

Israeli Radio said that the interrogation will last an hour and a half and will focus on Olmert's reactions towards Talansky and his friend and former partner Uri Messer's testimonies.

However, it is not yet certain whether Talansky will be questioned on Sunday, due to a request by Olmert's attorneys and former bureau chief, Shula Zaken, to delay the deposition by two weeks, in order to give them more time to study the material.

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