Ehud Olmert, the Prime Minister of Israel, declared on Wednesday, July 30 that he will resign in September. Since his decision can freeze the delicate peace talks with Syria and Palestinian, it sparked off a political upheaval in the country. In a formal statement issued from his residence in Jerusalem, Ehud Olmert said that he will not contest in the primary election of his party slated for September 17.  

He then added that he step down from the post of Israel’s PM afterward so as to permit the chairman to be elected and form a different government quickly and efficiently. There was a time when the popularity of Olmert plummeted 20 per cent following his gory but inconclusive war in Lebanon in 2006 as well as corruption charges. In the past months, he said that he felt battered by the police investigations.  

In his brief address, Ehud Olmert severely rebuked the stringent police interrogations against him. He stated that he was choosing the public good over his personal justice. The Israeli PM has denied doing anything wrong for a long time now despite all the allegations and pledged to resign if indicted. Olmert refrained from answering queries of the media persons.