Cracks appear in Olmert coalition after report

Occupied Jerusalem: A member of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Cabinet quit yesterday and pressure mounted on him to resign after a scathing report on his handling of the war in Lebanon.

Eitan Cabel, a minister without portfolio from the Israeli leader's main governing partner, the Labour Party, told a news conference: "I can no longer sit in a government headed by Ehud Olmert."

Cabel said Olmert "must resign" after a commission probing the inconclusive war against Hezbollah fighters listed on Monday severe failings on the part of the premier, Defence Minister Amir Peretz of Labour and the army chief, who has already quit.

Most MPs in Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's party want him to quit, a senior party official said yesterday. "There's a majority of Kadima [deputies] who support the calls for Olmert's resignation," the official said on condition of anonymity. But the chairman of the centrist Kadima in parliament, Avigdor Itzchaky, insisted that "there is no attempt to oust Olmert".

Reuters however reported that Yitzhaki, was gathering signatures for a letter he would present to Olmert asking him to resign, quoting party sources.

Another Kadima Member of the Knesset said that he did not think the faction, which has 29 deputies in the 120-seat Israeli parliament, would move to force the beleaguered premier from his post.

Parliament will hold a special debate tomorrow on the war findings, answering motions from opposition politicians who have been vocal in their demands for Olmert to step down.

The most likely candidates to succeed Olmert are Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres.