Israeli PM faces no-confidence
Embattled Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was due to face motions of no-confidence in parliament yesterday, the latest backlash over a scathing inquiry into his handling of last year's Lebanon war.
Parliament was due to debate three no-confidence motions that were lodged by both right-wing and left-wing opposition parties at an afternoon session, officials said.
Most observers do not expect the measures to pass as Olmert still enjoys the support of most of his 78-member coalition in the 120-seat chamber.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. "The government is expected to survive Monday's no-confidence vote by a large margin, so even if some individual coalition MPs do vote against the government or abstain from voting, their votes will be more of an insult than a real threat to its stability," wrote the liberal Haaretz daily.
Earlier the head of the main right-wing opposition Likud party, a sponsor of one of the motions, called on Olmert to step down.