Wait 'til next year for Mideast peace

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's decision Wednesday to resign as leader of the Kadima party means there is virtually no chance that Israel will be able to come to a settlement with the Palestinian Authority by the end of George W. Bush's presidency. Olmert, who is in the midst of a corruption investigation but has not yet been indicted, announced Wednesday that he would not run for re-election and will resign the prime minister's post after Sept. 17, when Kadima chooses a new chairman, according to the Reuters international news service. This has been treated with surprise internationally, because Bush had seemingly staked his administration's legacy on reaching a peace deal between the Israelis and the Palestinians. "I am not doing this out of a feeling that I cannot do my job ... I believe in my ability to continue," Olmert said at a news conference at his official residence. "When forced to choose between my own personal standing and considerations that relate to the welfare of the state, it is the latter that will take precedence." In his second year as prime minister, Olmert's government was negotiating peace deals simulaneously with the Palestinian Authority and with Syria, perhaps Israel's most intractable enemy. In Israel, leading politicians applauded Olmert's decision not to seek re-election. "Prime Minister Olmert made a right and appropriate decision," former prime minister Ehud Barak said.