Aide says former Israeli ex-PM Ehud Olmert considering election challenge to Netanyahu

JERUSALEM – An aide to former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says he is considering running for office to challenge incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu.

With early elections set to take place in a number of months, Olmert is considered the candidate with the best chance of replacing Netanyahu. Olmert was recently cleared of the most serious of the bribery allegations that forced him out of office in 2009. He is still bogged down in a separate bribery trial that leaves his political future in doubt.

Still, his former Cabinet secretary and confidante Yisrael Maimon told Israel's Army Radio Wednesday that "he is pondering it and the political system is putting a lot of pressure on him."

Olmert was deeply unpopular while in office, but he has recently enjoyed renewed popularity and support.