ISRAEL: Ehud Olmert in the hot seat

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Condoleezza Rice is in town pushing for the removal of more Israeli checkpoints in the West Bank. President Bush arrives later month and will likely push further to revive the lackluster Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Meanwhile, right-wing members of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s fragile coalition constantly threaten to bring down his government if the negotiations actually address anything important like the division of Jerusalem.

So the last thing Olmert needs right now is the ghost of scandals past rattling its chains outside his window.

On Friday, Olmert was subject to police questioning for 90 minutes at his official residence in Jerusalem. The reason: an urgent inquiry ordered by Israel’s attorney general reportedly focusing on bribes paid by an American businessman to Olmert before he became prime minister.

A statement issued by Olmert’s office said: ‘He is convinced that as the truth will emerge in the framework of the police investigation, the suspicions against him will dissipate.’

Given the urgent nature of the inquiry and still sketchy details about the suspected crime, coverage of the issue has been understandably breathless.

Olmert has been implicated in a host of prior scandals including political appointments and shady real estate details. But the former mayor of Jerusalem has always manged to land on his feet. So far.

—Ashraf Khalil in Jerusalem