Olmert expected to decide on election plans this week

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is still undecided as to his political plans ahead of the upcoming elections, but is expected to announce his decision after he returns to Israel on Tuesday following a visit to the U.S.

In recent days during his U.S. visit, Olmert hinted at a political comeback but was said to still be waiting for results of polls concerning such a move.

At a meeting he held during a tour of various cities throughout the U.S., Olmert said "The main issue in the upcoming elections in Israel is peace with the Palestinians." If he returns to politics, he intends to join the attempt to replace the government, Olmert said.

No one who is close to the former prime minister is willing to predict his final decision regarding a comeback, but once the decision is made, former Kadima chair and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is expected to announce her decision as well.

On Monday Livni told the gatherers of an academic conference she would make a decision in "two to three days." She noted that her decision would be affected by Olmert's decision and "whether there will be someone on the political playing field who could generate the necessary alternative to the current prime minister." She said a fragmented center-left bloc would suffer in the elections, and "I wouldn't want to divide the bloc to which I belong."

In an interview on Army Radio on Sunday, Livni's brother, Eli, said he supported the Likud in the previous elections and is still not prepared to support his sister's choice of party. "I am not involved in her deliberations. She did what she did or didn't do and should make way for other people," he said.