Bennett calls for Olmert parole
Former PM remains hospitalized
Former prime minister Ehud Olmert should be released from prison after his June 29 parole hearing, Bayit Yehudi leader Naftali Bennett said on Friday.
The hearing will decide whether he will be granted early release from prison after serving two-thirds of his sentence for corruption offenses.
“The time has come to release Ehud Olmert,” Bennett wrote on Twitter. “Despite our differences of opinion, there is no disputing his decisive contribution to Israeli security in a series of courageous decisions. The time has come to have mercy on him.”
Olmert will remain at Chaim Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer under medical supervision until at least Monday before he returns to his prison cell, sources close to him said on Friday.
The sources said Olmert has undergone a series of tests in order to determine why he has lost some 6 kilograms in recent weeks and that doctors were working on restoring his nutrition.
An echocardiogram conducted at the hospital showed that Olmert did not have a heart attack after he complained of chest pains and those who visited him in prison had expressed concern that he could soon have a heart attack if he was not hospitalized. The former prime minister recovered from a previous bout of prostate cancer.
Eliyahu Kamisher contributed to this report.