BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Despite the much touted Turkey-brokered talks between Israel and Syria on a peace deal, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is seen by many analysts as too weak to fulfill the goal.

    Olmert has been facing legal troubles culminated with the fifth police investigation into scandals since he took power in 2006. He is suspected of illegally receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars from Jewish American businessman Morris Talansky.

Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (2nd R) heads the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem June 1, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Although Olmert vowed to stay on power, Israel's powerful Defense Minister Ehud Barak pressed him to step aside because of his political or legal distractions. Barak, presumably a contender for Olmert's job, even threatened to bring down the government if Olmert does not comply.

    Analysts have cast doubts on the possibility of an Israel-Palestinian peace deal by the end of the year with or without Olmert in office.

    The prospect for Israel to cut a comprehensive peace deal with its bitter enemy Syria seemed even more gloomy.

    Indeed, the two countries held their first indirect meeting in late May and planned the second for this month, Olmert didn't seemto enjoy the necessary backing at home for a full withdrawal from the Golan Heights, Syria's prerequisite for a peace deal with the Jewish state.

    The 20,000 Jewish settlers in the Golan Heights have the popular support, with polls showing that two thirds of the Israelis oppose returning the plateau to Syria.

    Meanwhile, Olmert's dramatic announcement that he is negotiating a peace deal with Syria was greeted with overwhelming skepticism in Israel.

    In a poll published last month in the Yediot Ahronot daily, only 36 percent said the negotiations are meant to promote peace, while 49 percent of Israelis said they believe Olmert is trying to divert attention from the ongoing police investigation.

    Moreover, Olmert seemed equivocal about the concessions on the negotiation table.

    While both Syria and Turkey confirmed that Israel agreed to cede the Golan Heights during their talks, Olmert denied the claim when questioned recently by the Knesset (parliament) Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

    "No obligations were offered -- either spoken or in writing -- to Syria," Olmert was quoted by the Jerusalem Post as saying. "All I said from February 2007 until May 2008 was 'I know what you want and you know what I want.'"

    Ironically, peace negotiations between Israel and Syria broke off in 2000, when then Israeli Prime Minister and now Defense Minister Barak refused Syria's request to fully withdraw from the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau Israel seized in 1967 and annexed in 1981.

    Palestinian militant group Hamas openly expressed doubts about Israel's seriousness in negotiations. In fact, it does not want to see the negotiations materialize in the first place because Israel's demand for Syria's ending support to Hamas and curbing ties with Iran would put the militants at great disadvantage.

    Olmert is too weak to take the necessary steps for peace with Syria, said Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal during a visit to Iran last month.

    Syria, still unconvinced by Olmert's pledge "to offer extremely painful concessions," lately signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran on the expansion of military and technical cooperation.

    Iran's official IRNA news agency said the document refers to historical, ever-lasting and strategic bilateral ties and highlights the need to further bolster and broaden defense ties between the two countries.

    The move has further complicated the Israel-Syria talks, which do not enjoy the blessing of Israel's main ally, the United States, although Washington said it would not stand in the way.

    Political analysts say U.S. hostility to Damascus, and to its Lebanese Hezbollah and Iranian allies, makes a Syrian-Israeli deal unlikely before President George W. Bush leaves office in January.