Former Israeli premier Olmert jailed for bribery

Ehud Olmert, former prime minister of Israel and former mayor of Jerusalem, has been sentenced to six years in jail and fined 1 million shekels ($290,000) after being found guilty on two counts of bribery.

Olmert was found guilty of accepting bribes when he served as mayor of Jerusalam in exchange for helping the developers of the Holyland Park residential project pass various hurdles and regulations.

The conviction marks the first time an Israeli head of government has been convicted of a crime.

"He held the most important and central position and ended up convicted of contemptible crimes," sentencing judge David Rosen said. "Somebody who accepts a bribe is like a traitor".

Olmert's conviction marks a fall from grace for a man who once called himself, "the most privileged Jew in the universe" for his opportunity to lead Jerusalem.

"I was bestowed the power to lead the city at this time in its history," he told the Middle East Quarterly in 1997, "What can be more exciting, more fascinating, more important, and more responsible, than to be the leader of the city for which every Jew has been praying for the last two thousand years?"

Olmert became prime minister of Israel in 2006 and remained in the position until 2009 - the allegations of corruptions that plagued his time in office are thought to have led to his decision not to seek re-election as leader of the Kadima party and thus resign his post as prime minister.

After a two-year trial, Olmert was convicted on March 31 of bribery of 560,000 shekels (around $160,000)

The judge also saying he had committed perjury.

Olmert still protests his innocence, saying he had never taken bribes.

Eli Zohar, his lawyer, told reporters outside the courtroom that his client would appeal. "You heard what Ehud Olmert said at the pre-sentence hearings. He did not take a bribe, did not receive a bribe and as far as he feels he still sees himself as innocent."

"With us he will go to the Supreme Court to appeal."

Olmert was Prime Minister during the 2006 Lebanon war and 2008's Operation Cast Lead in which over 1300 Gazans were killed during the course of an Israeli army campaign to clamp down on rocket attack from the Gaza Strip.

These controversial campaigns led to activists and human rights lawyers labelling the former Prime Minister a war criminal; he risks arrest in a number of countries.

Some Twitter users have hailed the conviction as a victory for democracy:

Others were more cynical:

...and some offered trivia: