Olmert

(Newser) - Scandal-plagued Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced today that he will step down. "This was not an easy decision," he said. Olmert, who faces criminal corruption charges, must now submit his resignation to President Shimon Peres, but he may remain as a caretaker prime minister for weeks or...

(Newser) - Israel has approved plans to begin or complete 750 new homes in the occupied West Bank, posing yet another hurdle to the success of US-brokered Mideast peace talks, Reuters reports. Palestinian leaders immediately condemned the new construction in the Jewish settlement of Givat Ze'ev near Jerusalem. "This will undermine...

(Newser) - Israel is taking the first steps toward getting drivers behind the electric wheel. The country today unveiled a joint project that calls for Renault-Nissan to build cars and a California startup to build the infrastructure. The electric cars are to hit the mass market by 2010 with half a million...