Israeli foreign minister says Olmert should quit

updated 1:39 p.m. ET May 2, 2007

JERUSALEM - Israel’s popular foreign minister on Wednesday called on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to step down and said she would seek to replace him as allies began to desert the embattled premier after a harsh report criticizing his handling of last year’s war in Lebanon.

But Olmert told members of his ruling Kadima Party that he plans to stay on to shepherd through the report’s recommendations.

“I intend to implement the recommendations of the report down to the last detail,” spokesman Jacob Galanti quoted him as saying Wednesday.

Olmert convened the emergency meeting of Kadima officials after Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told him in a private meeting that she thought he should step down. And Avigdor Yitzhaki, chairman of the parliamentary coalition, quit to express dissatisfaction with Olmert, Galanti said.

“I told him that resignation would be the right thing for him to do,” said Livni, who is best placed to succeed Olmert as leader of the Kadima Party — and possibly as prime minister.

Livni: New elections may not be needed
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.

The 34-day war against Hezbollah guerrillas 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. The harsh language has fueled growing calls for Olmert’s resignation from the public, his party and members of his coalition, in addition to political rivals.

Hezbollah leader ‘will not gloat’
In Lebanon, the militant Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Wednesday he “respects” his enemy’s verdict of failure in last summer’s war with his guerrillas.

“I will not gloat,” the Shiite Muslim cleric told an audience in a south Beirut neighborhood complex that was rebuilt after being leveled by Israeli warplanes during the summer fighting. “When the enemy entity acts honestly and sincerely, you cannot but respect it.”

The militant Hezbollah leader also said the Israeli commission reviewing the Lebanon war had vindicated his claim that Israel had been defeated.

“The first important outcome of this commission is that it has finally and officially decided the issue of victory and defeat ... This commission spoke about a very big defeat,” Nasrallah said.

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