JERUSALEM - Six of 10 Israelis think Prime Minister Ehud Olmert isn't capable of promoting peacemaking with the Palestinians because of the latest police probe to engulf him, a poll showed Monday.

The same number think he should resign, according to the Dahaf Research Institute survey of 500 people, published in the Yediot Ahronot daily.

The poll is the first since police disclosed last week that they are investigating suspicions Olmert illicitly took envelopes stuffed with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from a Jewish American businessman, Morris Talansky.

Sixty percent of those polled said they didn't believe Olmert's claim that he didn't funnel money into his own pocket.

The survey had a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.

On Thursday, a court ordered the partial lifting of a gag order on the case, which involves events before Olmert became prime minister in 2006.

The Justice Ministry has been deliberately vague on what laws the Israeli leader might have broken because the probe - expected to take months - is at an early stage, a ministry official said. Two possible directions are campaign funding violations and bribe-taking.

Olmert has acknowledged taking campaign contributions from Talansky several times. But at a news conference on Thursday, after the gag order was eased, he denied wrongdoing and declared, "I never took bribes, I never took a penny for myself."

Since becoming prime minister, Olmert has been a suspect in several corruption affairs involving real estate deals and questionable political appointments. He has been questioned several times in the past by police but has never been charged. Some of these investigations remain pending.

In an interview broadcast Sunday on Channel 10 TV, Talansky denied trying to bribe Olmert.

"I never thought in any way that the money that I gave him for the purpose of his becoming mayor or electioneering was in any way illegal or wrong," he said.

Olmert has pledged to resign if indicted.

Addressing Jewish fundraisers in Jerusalem on Sunday, the prime minister pointedly avoided the latest allegations against him. Instead, he pledged to work for peace with the Palestinians and predicted progress.

Peace talks resumed in November after seven years of violence, and Olmert meets frequently with moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The two leaders promised U.S. President George W. Bush to try to reach a peace agreement by the end of the year. But talks have been hobbled by long-standing conflicts over Israeli settlement activity, Israel's refusal to ease movement in the West Bank to promote economic there, and Abbas' loss of control of the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by Islamic Hamas militants. Olmert's legal problems could further weaken him politically and limit his ability to reach a peace deal.

Olmert's legal problems also could hinder his ability to

Bush is due to arrive in Israel this week as part of Israel's 60th anniversary celebrations. He is expected to take stock of the talks and push for more progress.