MK (Labor) Danny Yatom announced on Monday that he is resigning from Knesset in a showing of no-confidence in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Yatom told party faction members that he contemplated quitting following the release of the Winograd Commission report which detailed the failures of the government in the Second Lebanon War. He explained that he expected the prime minister to step down following the publication of the report, but we see this was not the case.

“It is no secret that I have been increasingly uncomfortable over the past two years, and political survival has become a profession for some,” he stated.

Yatom stated ethics and a basic standard has been lost, and he plans to leave the political arena entirely.

“I feel like I am part of the political deterioration and that we are expressing support for the government and providing a safety net. The prime minister failed the test regarding the war and regarding the public’s trust. He is not alone in corruption with one episode following another.”

Yatom submitted his letter of resignation to Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik on Monday.

A month ago, Labor MK Dr. Ephraim Sneh also resigned and launched a new party, Yisrael Chazaka, hoping to earn his way back into the Knesset by running on a clean slate as he put it.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)