(Recasts with details, quotes, Olmert plans to convene cabinet) By Allyn Fisher-Ilan JERUSALEM, May 1 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert fought for his political survival on Tuesday as pressure mounted for him to resign after an official report criticised his handling of a war last year in Lebanon. The fallout against Olmert began with the resignation of a cabinet minister of his main governing partner, the Labour Party. It later engulfed Olmert's own ruling Kadima party whose parliament deputies drafted a letter urging him to quit. "I can no longer sit in a government headed by Ehud Olmert," Eitan Cabel, a minister without portfolio, said, describing the move as a bid to force Olmert out of office. But Olmert suffered his toughest blow since the findings issued on Monday accused him of a "serious failure" in decision-making, when Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, a close associate, was quoted as telling aides "he must go." Ministry officials could neither confirm nor deny the reports that were carried by two Israeli television networks. Olmert, who has defied the calls to quit, lobbied to save his job but told aides, according to Channel 2 television, he was "not convinced" he would survive the political storm. "Some are counting the days until the government falls," the state-owned Channel 1 station said in an opening remark on the evening news. Newspaper headlines spoke of a "noose tightening around his neck" and a "gun to his head". Party sources said the head of the Kadima faction in parliament, Avigdor Yitzhaki, was gathering signatures for a letter he would present to Olmert on Thursday, asking him to resign. Under Kadima's bylaws Olmert can only be ousted by agreement. But parliament could force him out by a no confidence vote for which there does not yet appear to be a majority. Despite the growing dissent in his party, Olmert's key coalition partners have so far stuck by him, apparently keen to avoid an early election that could reduce their parliamentary power. DAMAGE-CONTROL BID In an apparent bid to contain the political damage, Olmert plans to convene his cabinet on Wednesday to name a panel to implement the report issued by the Winograd Commission. Israel Radio said the cabinet would name a steering committee for this purpose and that "if it should reach the conclusion that Olmert should resign, he would not latch onto his seat," the radio said, quoting an unnamed political source. Israel's parliament will meet in special session on Thursday on the war findings, answering motions from opposition lawmakers insisting Olmert should step down. Livni, a former Mossad intelligence operative and Olmert's top deputy, is a frontrunner to replace him. Another name that has been mentioned is Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres. Former prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu of the rightist Likud party, a favourite in opinion polls, could also pose a challenge. The Winograd Commission said on Monday the cabinet rubber-stamped the decision to go to war but Olmert bore "supreme responsibility" for launching the air, sea and land assaults without a proper plan after Hezbollah seized two Israeli soldiers on July 12. The panel stopped short of recommending Olmert step down. Olmert, as widely expected, accepted responsibility for "many mistakes" during the 34-day campaign in which Hezbollah rained 4,000 rockets on Israel and Israeli warplanes pounded southern Beirut, one were killed in Lebanon, including about 900 civilians, while 117 Israeli troops died along with 41 civilians caught in the rocket strikes in northern Israel. (Additional reporting by Adam Entous and Jeffrey Heller)
