The messy Lebanon war has cost Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert much of his political capital – and with approval ratings plummeting, he has been forced to shelve his ambitious West Bank pullout plan and is instead struggling to ride out a growing public storm over the government’s wartime bungles.

ARIEL SHARON’S future as Israeli leader was in grave doubt last night as he faced possible charges following the indictment of a property developer on charges of bribing the prime minister.