I JUST WAS SENT THIS!!!!!! Olmert: I have decided to resign as prime minister of Israel www.jpost.com"I have decided to resign as prime minister of Israel," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced to ministers at the start of the cabinet meeting on Sunday.
"This was not an easy decision, or a simple one. This was a difficult decision with serious misgivings, but I think I am acting in an appropriate manner, as I have promised the people of Israel," Olmert said.
"I think that this government has done good things - some that we are able to speak about, and others that we are not," he continued. "[These acts] will be written in the pages of history, and will be a source of pride to all those who participated in them.
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"I hope that [Foreign Minister and new Kadima leader] Tzipi Livni forms a government as quickly as possible," the prime minister said. "I will help her and stand by her during the process. People like me and a few others, like [Defense Minister Ehud] Barak know how difficult it is to establish and lead a government.
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On Saturday, Olmert's associates said the timetable for submitting his resignation letter to President Shimon Peres would be finalized in coordination with Beit Hanassi on Sunday. They said that the two most likely options were submitting the letter on Sunday or waiting until October 2, after Peres's return from the United Nations General Assembly in New York and the Rosh Hashana holiday.
Once Peres receives the letter, he will meet with the heads of the 13 Knesset factions to consult with them about whom he should appoint to form a new coalition before formally appointing new Kadima leader Tzipi Livni. She will then have 42 days to form a coalition - but her goal is to present a new government to the Knesset when it returns for its winter session on October 27.