A mass rally in Tel Aviv today is expected to draw tens of thousands of opponents calling for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to step down.
Mr Olmert is under fire for his handling of last summer's war against Lebanese guerrillas, although he appears to have quashed a rebellion against him in the ranks of his Kadima Party - at least for now.
Yesterday, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, a party heavyweight, called on him to quit, and parliamentary coalition chief Avigdor Yitzhaki, resigned to protest Mr Olmert's refusal to step down.
But other Kadima officials rallied around their beleaguered chief, no doubt mindful that a widespread mutiny could lead to early elections. Polls indicate hawkish former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the opposition Likud Party, would win if new elections were held.
Opinion polls released yesterday show two out of three Israelis want Mr Olmert out now.
Mr Olmert said he intended to stay on to remedy the severe flaws in decision-making and crisis management that a government investigation identified in its scathing report on the Lebanon war released Monday.
Fighting erupted on July 12th when Hizbullah guerrillas crossed into Israel, killed three soldiers and captured two others.
In 34 days of fighting, Israel failed to achieve the two main goals Mr Olmert set: to return the soldiers and crush Hizbullah. Instead, Hizbullah fired nearly 4,000 rockets into northern Israel.