Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday said in a televised address to the nation that he will not run in his Kadima Party's upcoming mid-September primary and will immediately following that election step down to make way for the winner.
In a speech most of the Israeli press curiously characterized as "dignified," Olmert lashed out at political opponents for having chased him out of office, while remaining adamant in his refusal to take responsibility for any of his shortcomings, failures or improprieties.
In fact, Olmert maintained his innocence in each of the six corruption investigations still opened against him, and insisted that his premiership had been marked by tremendous achievements that had left Israel better and stronger than when he took office.
Closer analysis of what some reports said amounted to a resignation, however, suggested that Olmert may have perpetrated a clever ruse aimed at keeping himself in office for at least another nine months.
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Israeli humanitarian organization Save a Child's Heart (SACH) announced this week that a 3-year-old Angolan boy had become the 2,000th foreign child heart patient saved by Israeli doctors.
The child was operated on by the team of doctors at Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, who donate their time to SACH in an effort to build bridges of trust with surrounding nations by helping their children.
SACH and its partner organizations have brought children to the Israeli doctors from 33 countries. But the greatest international attention has been given to those cases that involved children from nations in a state of conflict with the Jewish state, like Iraq.
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Syrian president to meet with President Ahmadinejad next weekend on for talks on Iran's nuclear program, renewed peace talks with Israel
Dudi Cohen
Syrian President Bashar Assad is expected to head east next weekend for a brief two-day visit in neighboring Iran – Iranian news agency FARS reported on Thursday 
Israeli PM's resignation may have impact on indirect peace talks, Syria's UN ambassador says; source says new round of negotiations expected in mid-August   
Assad will land in Iran next Saturday to considerable stately fanfare. Ahmadinejad himself will head out to meet the Syrian president at the airport upon arrival.He will also meet with Iranian police top brass on various security matters pertaining to the two countries shared region. Estimates indicate Assad will share details of his meetings with French President Nicolas Sarkozy with his hosts. France, which maintains close ties with its former colony, is keen on extracting Syria from its alliance with Tehran and bringing it closer to the international community.
Earlier this week Syrian Foreign Affairs Minister, Walid al-Muallem, paid a visit to Tehran and also met with Ahmadinejad. The Iranian president pledged he would work to strengthen the relationship between the two nations, to the discontentment ...   more »

'This government has reached an end and it doesn't matter who heads Kadima,' opposition leader says, adding 'national responsibility requires a return to the people'. Ramon: Chances of holding new vote high
Israel's right-wing Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu called on Thursday for a new parliamentary election after Ehud Olmert pledged to resign following his party's leadership contest in September.
Peace Talks  
Right: Olmert lacks mandate to negotiate peace / Roni Sofer  
Right-wing MKs slam prime minister's announcement he will continue to pursue peace talks with Palestinians, Syria despite having pledged to step down after Kadima primary elections  
Recent opinion polls suggest Netanyahu's Likud party, a critic of Olmert's peace moves with the Palestinians and Syria, would win a snap election.  
"This government has reached an end and it doesn't matter who heads Kadima. They are all partners in this government's total failure," Netanyahu told Israeli Radio.
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