Israel ex-PM Ehud Omert awarded six-year jail sentence in graft case

Israel's former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was on Tuesday sentenced to six years in prison by the Tel Aviv District Court, having been convicted on bribery charges.

Olmert was Israel's prime minister between 2006 and 2009, and was forced to resign amid corruption allegations. He was subsequently found guilty of accepting 560,000 shekels ($160,000) from contractors while he was the mayor of Jerusalem between 1993 and 2003.

In July 2012, Olmert, Israels's 12th prime minister, was also found guilty on one count of breach of trust during his tenure as the industry, trade and labour minister between 2003 and 2005. Eight other former officials and businessmen were also sentenced to various prison terms at the court on Tuesday in one of the gravest corruption scandals in the country's existence.

Olmert is the first former prime minister of Israel to be convicted of bribery and to be sentenced to prison. He will have 45 days to appeal the sentencing decision.

"The defendant had hurt the public trust and his actions are hurtful to the people's trust in their representatives. Graft charges severely damage the entire social structure," Judge David Rozen said at court.

"Bribery pollutes the civil service," Rozen said, adding that "The higher the rank of the official, the more severe his offenses. Harsh punishments are needed in order to remove the epidemic of corruption."

Olmert announced that he would appeal the case to the Supreme Court, declaring he had "never requested nor received bribes."