ISRAEL’S attorney general ordered police yesterday to open a criminal investigation into Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s purchase of a home in Jerusalem.

PRIME Minister Ariel Sharon survived a no-confidence vote over his Gaza pull-out plan in Israel's parliament yesterday after receiving a boost from reports that he would avoid charges in a bribery scandal.

ISRAELI Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was questioned for more than two hours yesterday by police over allegations that he took a bribe.