Key Israeli Leader Raises Pressure On PM

Livni said she would remain in government "to ensure that improvements are carried out." Livni, Olmert's top rival in the party, said she believed Kadima could replace Olmert without holding new elections.

Under Israel's parliamentary system, Kadima could change leaders without losing power. Livni said when Kadima holds its party primary, she would run for the leadership. No primary date has been set.

"It's not a personal matter between me and the prime minister — this issue is more important than both of us," Livni said.

Olmert called an emergency meeting of his Cabinet Wednesday in a feverish attempt to hold on to power, urging his rivals to "slow down" before trying to reap political capital from a scathing report on his handling of last year's war against Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.

This week's report has fueled a growing chorus of calls for Olmert's resignation, including from members of his coalition government.

The 34-day war has been widely perceived as a failure. Monday's report said Olmert bore ultimate responsibility, accusing him of poor judgment, hasty decision making and lack of vision.

A defiant Olmert opened the special Cabinet session by hinting that reports of his political demise were premature. "To those who are eager to take advantage of this report to reap certain political advantages, I suggest 'slow down,'" he said in comments broadcast on Israeli media.

Israel Radio has reported that Defense Minister Amir Peretz, also the target of fierce criticism over Israel's prosecution of the Lebanon war, may decide to resign his post as early as Wednesday.

Two new polls published in Israeli newspapers Wednesday said some two-thirds of Israelis want Olmert to resign immediately. The surveys indicated that the hawkish former prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu of the opposition Likud Party, would likely win handily if new elections were held.

Since the report was issued, Olmert has been scrambling to hold his coalition together. One minister from the Labor Party, the junior coalition partner, already has quit, and there have been increasing signs of eroding support within Kadima.

In a new blow to Olmert, the chairman of Kadima's parliamentary faction, Avigdor Yitzhaki, called for the prime minister to step down.

"In order for Kadima to return to being a legitimate ruling party and for the sake of the prime minister and for the sake of the entire country, I think the prime minister has to resign," he told Israel Radio. "He has to take this responsibility and resign."

Yitzhaki said if Olmert failed to do so immediately he would resign his post as chairman of his coalition. On Tuesday, another Kadima lawmaker, Marina Solodkin, also urged Olmert to step down.

At Wednesday's Cabinet session, Olmert was expected to appoint a committee to look into the findings of the report, which was compiled by a five-member commission headed by a retired judge.

But the appointment of a new committee seemed unlikely to overshadow the rising tide of demands that he quit, which began not long after the costly but inconclusive war, in which almost 4,000 Hezbollah rockets landed in Israel and 158 Israelis were killed. More than 1,000 Lebanese civilians and combatants were also killed in the war, according to Lebanese officials.

The war broke out last July 12 after Hezbollah guerrillas crossed into Israel, killed three soldiers and captured two others. Olmert's public support, high in the early days of the war, nose-dived after the fighting ended without Israel's achieving the two goals Olmert declared — crushing Hezbollah and recovering the captured soldiers.

Olmert aides, speaking after a long day of talks and calculations Tuesday, said the prime minister knew he might be nearing the end of his reign because of the extent of the public protest. The aides, speaking on condition of anonymity because their consultations were private, said Olmert felt if he does resign, Israel would be thrown into an election campaign, because no one else could set up an alternative government.

Wednesday's polls showed that if early elections were held, Netanyahu would easily sweep to power.

The Maariv poll, conducted by the Teleseker agency, found that 73 percent of the public wants Olmert to resign while the Dahaf poll conducted for Yediot Ahronot daily said 65 percent favor his ouster. The first survey had a 4.6 percentage point margin of error, while the second had a 4.5 point margin of error.

On Thursday, Olmert's opponents from all sides planned a show of strength at a demonstration in downtown Tel Aviv. Its size and composition could go a long way toward showing Olmert whether he can weather the storm.

On May 28, the Labor Party, Olmert's main coalition partner, holds a primary election where Peretz, also a target of criticism from the inquiry commission, is likely to be replaced.

Two of the four candidates opposing Peretz have called on Olmert to resign, and Labor could well leave his coalition, probably forcing elections.