This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/7423405.stm
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Call for Israel PM to stand down | Call for Israel PM to stand down |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has called on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to take a leave of absence or resign as he battles allegations of corruption. | Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has called on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to take a leave of absence or resign as he battles allegations of corruption. |
| Mr Barak said he would take his Labor Party out of Mr Olmert's governing coalition if he did not step down. | Mr Barak said he would take his Labor Party out of Mr Olmert's governing coalition if he did not step down. |
| "The prime minister needs to disconnect himself from the day-to-day management of the government," Mr Barak said. | "The prime minister needs to disconnect himself from the day-to-day management of the government," Mr Barak said. |
| Mr Olmert denies claims that he took up to $500,000 (£250,000) in bribes or illegal campaign donations. | Mr Olmert denies claims that he took up to $500,000 (£250,000) in bribes or illegal campaign donations. |
| Mr Olmert, the head of the Kadima Party, says the sums were legal campaign contributions. | Mr Olmert, the head of the Kadima Party, says the sums were legal campaign contributions. |
| He has previously said he had no plans to step aside unless he is charged. | He has previously said he had no plans to step aside unless he is charged. |
| 'Early elections' | |
| Mr Barak was speaking a day after the US businessman at the centre of the allegations told investigators that he gave Mr Olmert envelopes full of cash. | Mr Barak was speaking a day after the US businessman at the centre of the allegations told investigators that he gave Mr Olmert envelopes full of cash. |
| Morris Talansky was questioned by investigators, and is due to be cross-examined by Mr Olmert's defence team in July. | |
| Mr Talansky said the money was often handed over in cash-stuffed envelopes | |
| At a press conference on Wednesday, Mr Barak said he did not think the prime minister could run the government and deal with the fall-out from the allegations at the same time. | |
| "He can do this in any of the ways open to him - suspension, vacation or resignation or declaring himself incapacitated. We will not be the ones to determine this," he said. | |
| But he warned that if he did not leave, "we will act towards setting an agreed and early date for elections". | |
| 'Loved cigars' | |
| Testifying in an Israeli court on Tuesday, Mr Talansky said he handed over about $150,000 (£76,000) of his own money to Mr Olmert, directly and through aides, over a 15-year period. | |
| The rest of the money came from fundraising. | |
| He said did not know how the money was spent, adding: "I only know he loved expensive cigars. I know he loved pens, watches." | |
| Mr Talansky said that Mr Olmert also asked him for a personal loan of $25,000-$30,000 for a holiday in Italy. | |
| In another case, he said, he walked to a bank to withdraw $15,000 in cash for a loan as Mr Olmert waited in a luxury hotel. | |
| Mr Talansky said he thought Mr Olmert's "word was gold", but that Mr Olmert never repaid either loan. |