DISCONTENT over Ehud Olmert’s handling of the war with Hezbollah has risen sharply, to the extent that most Israelis now believe that the Prime Minister should resign.

An opinion poll in Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper yesterday showed that 63 per cent of those questioned want Mr Olmert to go. In contrast, support for his rival Binyamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party has risen sharply.

The steep decline in Mr Olmert’s popularity has gathered momentum as the ranks of protesters dismayed by his Government’s management of the conflict have grown since the United Nations’ ceasefire began 12 days ago.

Under mounting pressure from angry reservists returning from the front and families of bereaved soldiers, Mr Olmert is due to make a decision tomorrow on the scope of an inquiry into the 34-day war.

The Prime Minister, whose Kadima party was elected to lead Israel’s coalition in late March, initially rejected a full state commission like those that came after the Yom Kippur War of 1973 and the Lebanese invasion in 1982.

But increasingly advisers believe that he will have little choice but to opt for the broad- ranging commission headed by a Supreme Court judge, despite his fear that it could paralyze the Government and the military for months.

The opinion polls lent support to the growing numbers of activists camped in a park opposite the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem, their banners demanding that he, Amir Peretz, the Defence Minister, and Dan Halutz, the army chief, resign.

A second poll in Maariv found that just 14 per cent of Israelis would vote for Mr Olmert if an election were held now, while 26 per cent would support Mr Netanyahu, who was trounced only five months ago.

As the Israeli electorate appears to lurch to the right, the criticism of Mr Peretz, leader of the left-leaning Labour Party, has been even more emphatic. Seventy-four per cent said he must go, while 54 percent thought that Lieutenant-General Halutz should depart.

Reservists from across Israel are angry at the planning of a campaign that left Hezbollah to claim victory.

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