Peres tipped to succeed as pressure mounts for Weizman's resignation

Mr Eduard Shevardnadze, the silver-haired President of Georgia, sat down for what must have been a somewhat uncomfortable dinner…

Mr Eduard Shevardnadze, the silver-haired President of Georgia, sat down for what must have been a somewhat uncomfortable dinner last night at the official residence of Israel's President in Jerusalem.

Immediately to his right was his host, the current President of Israel, Mr Ezer Weizman. Immediately to his left was Mr Shimon Peres, the former prime minister who, according to many in the Israeli government, will take over the presidency when Mr Weizman is forced out of office in the next few days.

Though Mr Weizman reiterates daily that he has no intention of stepping down, most of the country's top politicians and almost all influential journalists are adamant that, fairly soon now, he will have to go. His job is on the line because, over the years, he has accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from a close friend, French businessman Mr Edouard Sarousi. He emphatically denies that there was anything improper about this. Most damagingly, the Weizman affair is starting to overlap with a larger, snowballing corruption case, involving a leading Israeli newspaper publisher, Mr Ofer Nimrodi, who was indicted last month on charges including attempted conspiracy to murder. His office had denied this, but Mr Weizman last night acknowledged that he had met Mr Nimrodi a few months ago - when the publisher was seeking a presidential pardon for a past criminal conviction.

A former fighter pilot, air force commander, and Knesset member who moved from the right to the left and was among the first to advocate Israeli dialogue with the PLO, Mr Weizman is a blunt, feisty and widely-liked figure.