Ex Israeli PM Sentenced to Jail

Good morning Cairo, and what a morning it is, as for the first time ever a former Israeli head of government in the country is being held accountable for taking bribes in a corruption case and has been sentenced to six years in jail.

Ex-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is considered somewhat of a centrist in the Israeli political landscape, and has been convicted for taking bribes during a real estate deal that took place while he was mayor of Jerusalem.

The 68 year old veteran politician defeated most of the major charges that were brought against him two years ago. It was believed that Ehud Olmert was working very hard at solidifying a peace deal with Palestine when the allegations of wrongdoing first surfaced, forcing him to resign as prime minister, leaving some to speculate that his removal was politically motivated.

The new corruption charges that followed resulted in Judge David Rozen finding Olmert guilty of accepting two bribes that amount to over half a million shekels ($144,000) from developers of Holyland apartment building complex in Jerusalem. Olmert's lawyers were expected to ask the Tel Aviv court to allow Olmert to remain free until the Supreme Court has a chance to rule on his appeal on his March 31^st conviction, a process which could take months.

In this day in age, it seems next to impossible to hold people in power responsible for their actions. There is a long list of leaders who are corrupt and have broken international laws, especially in Israel, who will never face a charge.

Hopefully this case will set a legal precedence that will in future make it easier to hold reckless and corrupt heads of state accountable. Perhaps with time we may be lucky enough to see accountability globally trending, allowing Egyptian authority figures to finally be held accountable for their myriad of unjust actions.