Israeli court gives former Israeli PM extra month in jail

A Jerusalem court threw out Wednesday the prosecution's plea bargain with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and sentenced him an additional month in jail in a series of graft-linked cases.

The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court tossed the deal, setting Olmert's sentence to 19 months in prison, after the former prime minister pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in two of the corruption cases in which he has previously been convicted.

Olmert, who served as the Israeli Prime Minister between 2006 and 2009, pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for pressuring his former aide Shula Zaken not to testify against him in his bribery and fraud trials.

In exchange for his confession, the prosecution agreed that he will receive a six-month sentence, which would be served concurrently with the 18-month-term sentence over the so-called Holyland real-estate corruption affair.

However, the court refused to approve the deal, in a rare move that surprised both the legal establishment and Olmert's legal team.

Judge Avital Chen criticized the deal, saying the prosecution presented no reasons for the lighter punishment.

Olmert is set to begin serving his sentence on Feb. 15. He will be the first Israeli prime minister to go to jail after the Supreme Court upheld a graft conviction against him in January. Endit