| Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's son Omri has resigned his seat in the Israeli parliament after being convicted in a long-running party funding scandal. The move had little bearing on the prime minister's prospects in a March 28 general election, as Omri Sharon had served as a deputy in the right-wing Likud Party, which his father quit in November to form the centrist movement Kadima. The 41-year-old former lawmaker gave up his parliamentary community last year after being charged with funnelling foreign donations, in violation of Israeli election law, to Ariel Sharon's 1999 race to head the Likud. He was convicted in a plea bargain and awaits sentencing. The charges carry a maximum sentence of seven years in jail, but Israeli media speculated he would receive a shorter term. |