Scrambling to fend off his latest scandal, Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon today denied acting improperly in securing the release of an Israeli freed in a prisoner swap with Lebanese Hizbollah guerrillas.
Mr Sharon dismissed as a "wild attack" a report in the Maariv daily suggesting his push for businessman Mr Elhanan Tannenbaum's release in the January 29 deal had been spurred by close business ties he once had with the man's father-in-law.
Leftist politicians called for the right-wing leader, already under investigation in two corruption scandals, to resign or face an official inquiry.
Opposition parties requested a no-confidence vote in parliament, which is expected on Monday.
The vote is not expected to pose any immediate threat to Mr Sharon's grip on power.
His government has easily survived almost weekly no-confidence motions recently despite a rift with far-right coalition partners angered by his plan to uproot Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip under "disengagement" steps toward the Palestinians.
Since Mr Tannenbaum's return in a deal in which Israel also received three dead soldiers while freeing about 400 Arab prisoners, he has been grilled by security agents on allegations he was conducting illicit business when he was abducted in 2000.
He has denied involvement in any criminal activity.
Numerous critics of the German-brokered prisoner swap have said Israel paid too high a price for Mr Tannenbaum (59) a reserve army officer, and that the deal boosted Hizbollah's standing in the Arab world.
Maariv reported that Mr Tannenbaum's father-in-law, Mr Shimon Cohen, had been a business partner of Mr Sharon's family in the 1970s and taught him farming methods at their ranch in southern Israel.
The newspaper said Mr Sharon had failed to disclose this to cabinet members who approved the prisoner deal.