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| Israel ex-PM Ehud Olmert to serve jail term for bribery | Israel ex-PM Ehud Olmert to serve jail term for bribery |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has been ordered to serve 18 months in jail for bribery. | Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has been ordered to serve 18 months in jail for bribery. |
| Olmert had been sentenced to six years by a lower court in 2014, but this was reduced by the Supreme Court. | Olmert had been sentenced to six years by a lower court in 2014, but this was reduced by the Supreme Court. |
| The 70-year-old was convicted over a real estate deal that took place while he served as mayor of Jerusalem, prior to becoming prime minister in 2006. | The 70-year-old was convicted over a real estate deal that took place while he served as mayor of Jerusalem, prior to becoming prime minister in 2006. |
| Olmert, who stepped down in 2009, will become the first former Israeli head of government to go to prison. | Olmert, who stepped down in 2009, will become the first former Israeli head of government to go to prison. |
| He is due to begin his sentence on 15 February. | He is due to begin his sentence on 15 February. |
| 'Weight lifted' | |
| The Supreme Court acquitted Olmert of receiving a 500,000-shekel ($130,000; £86,000) bribe from the developers of Holyland, a controversial block of flats in Jerusalem, after he appealed against the March 2014 conviction. | |
| A separate conviction of illicitly taking a 60,000-shekel payment for another project was upheld. | |
| "A heavy weight was lifted from my chest today, when the Supreme Court exonerated me of the main charge, of Holyland," Olmert said following the ruling. | |
| "No bribe was ever offered to me and I never accepted one." | |
| Several other government officials and businesspeople were convicted alongside Olmert in 2014. | |
| The judge at the time said he was guilty of "moral turpitude". | |
| In a separate case, Olmert was sentenced earlier this year to eight months in prison for fraud and breach of trust for accepting illegal payments from an American businessman. | |
| The Supreme Court is yet to rule on Olmert's appeal in that case. |