Israel Probes Olmert's Home Purchase

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, center, is surrounded by bodyguards as he arrives at the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem, Monday, Sept. 24, 2007. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner) (Sebastian Scheiner - AP)

The latest probe threatened to damage Olmert's newly rehabilitated public image. Olmert has been deeply unpopular since last summer's inconclusive war against Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.

But opinion polls have shown a sudden surge in his popularity in the wake of reports that Israel successfully carried out an airstrike in Syria earlier this month. Olmert has not commented on the incident, and Israeli authorities have imposed a news blackout on the matter.

While the police investigation poses no immediate threat to Olmert's job, it is another distraction for the embattled leader at a time when he is trying to step up peace efforts with the Palestinians.

Olmert has been meeting frequently with Abbas, the Palestinian president, ahead of the U.S. peace conference. The two men are trying to reach a written agreement presenting a framework for negotiations on a final peace deal ahead of the conference, which is expected in November.

Israeli lawmaker Yossi Beilin, a veteran of past peace negotiations, said the series of scandals facing Olmert had created a virtual "mission impossible" for Olmert to focus on diplomatic matters.

"If you think about it in human dimensions, somebody who is under these suspicions and these investigations cannot actually function in my view as a prime minister," Beilin said in an Associated Press interview. "Even if he is totally innocent, he would need a lot of time in order to meet this challenge."

Separately Monday, a close ally of Olmert's was also dealt a legal blow.

Mazuz announced he is planning to move ahead with indicting Avraham Hirchson, who was forced to step down as finance minister in July because of embezzlement allegations. Hirchson is accused of stealing millions from a workers union he headed in 2003. Hirchson has denied the charges.

Mazuz said his final decision on an indictment depended on a special hearing for Hirchson, standard practice for public officials suspected of crimes.