CBNNews.com - Following the long-awaited release of the Winograd Commission's report evaluating the government's handling of the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is expected to focus on keeping Labor in his coalition.

Last spring, Defense Minister and Labor party chairman Ehud Barak said Labor would "end its partnership with Olmert and work to establish a new government with the current Knesset [parliament], or alternatively, to set a date for elections."

According to The Jerusalem Post, a statement calling on Barak to remain in the government will be issued by the prime minister Wednesday evening, following the report's release.

Olmert's political colleagues will make similar appeals on Israeli television Wednesday evening.

A recent poll revealed that 58 percent of Israelis want Olmert to resign if the completed report confirms Olmert's poor handling of the war.

According to the poll, a whopping two-thirds of Israelis want new elections rather than another Kadima leader.

Source: The Jerusalem Post