Olmert will be remembered as the prime minister who vacillated between making peace with the Palestinians in the West Bank and making war with those in the Gaza Strip. But probably his more memorable legacy will be the fiasco of the war in Lebanon two summers ago.
On the positive side Olmert helped orchestrate Israel's withdrawal from Gaza – a decision that was not without controversy in Israel. In fact, since the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Strip, the Islamic Resistance Movement, better known as Hamas has, in a coup-de-force, ousted its Fatah movement rivals and taken over the territory. With Hamas in full control of Gaza, Palestinian militants have been shelling Israeli border localities, taking the town of Sderot as a prime target. Efforts by Olmert to quell the violence have proven unsuccessful.
Similarly, his attempts to go after the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah turned out to be a military flop, costing the Israeli Defense Forces losses in men, materiel, and face. And although the Lebanese Shiite group suffered far more casualties and had large numbers of villages in the south destroyed as well as huge swaths of their strongholds in southern Beirut devastated by aerial bombardment, nevertheless, it gave Hezbollah a tremendous morale boost, prompting them to declare a victory.
Olmert will also be remembered as the prime minister who pussyfooted with the Syrians over a potential peace deal; but blame him, or blame it on the U.S. administration of George W. Bush, who used every chance they had to prevent Damascus and Tel Aviv talking, by telling the Israelis just how opposed they were to Israeli talking with Syria.
Olmert will also be remembered as the prime minister who tangoed with the Palestinians over the peace talks; taking one step forward and two steps back or sometimes the reverse.
He would meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and discuss the peace procedures and minutes later would authorize the building of more settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, infuriating both the Palestinian president and the U.S. secretary of state.
Olmert has also been plagued by a series of financial scandals. In fact the prime minister said that the public's persistent focus on them were what helped him make the decision not to seek another term.
"My privacy is not as important as the public's well-being," Olmert said during the surprise press conference that he held from his official Jerusalem residence at 8 p.m. (1 p.m. EST). "The prime minister is not above the law, but he is in no way below it."
Olmert also reiterated his dedication and hopes for achieving peace in the region. "I continue to believe with all my heart that the achievement of peace, combating terror, strengthening our security, and the realization of a different type of relationship with our neighbors are all necessary goals for the future of the State of Israel."
Modeled after the British system, Israel's Knesset (parliament) is formed by a coalition of parties that together must hold at least 61 of the 120 seats. Members of the Knesset are elected from party lists. The current coalition is comprised of the centrist Kadima party, 29 seats; the center-left Labor party, 19 seats; Shas, a religious party, 12 seats; and the Pensioners party representing elderly Israelis, seven seats.
A Knesset term, or session, lasts for a maximum of four years; the Israeli government is currently in its 17th session. No single party has ever won an outright majority. New elections are not required as long as a governing coalition that comprises 61 of the Knesset's 120 Knesset members can still convene.