Two polls predict tight Israel election race

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Two Israeli polls on Friday showed rightist Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu and the centrist Kadima party's Tzipi Livni running almost neck-and-neck if a national election is held to replace Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Olmert, who will be questioned by police for a fourth time on Friday in a corruption investigation, said this week he would resign as prime minister as soon as a new Kadima leader was elected in September.

All three of Israel's main newspapers showed Foreign Minister Livni with a solid lead in the race to take over from Olmert in the September 17 Kadima leadership election.

Surveys have consistently shown that Netanyahu's Likud party would win an early parliamentary election against Kadima, but two of the three opinion polls published on Friday showed a close race if Livni headed Kadima.

Mass-circulation Yedioth Ahronoth showed that Netanyahu's Likud would get 30 seats compared to 29 for Livni's Kadima. Left-leaning Haaretz had Livni netting 26 seats, ahead of Netanyahu's 25.

Daily Maariv put Netanyahu clearly ahead, showing that if elections were to be held today, Likud would sweep 33 seats in Israel's 120-seat parliament with Livni at the head of Kadima taking only 20 seats.

Former prime minister Netanyahu has been a leading critic of Olmert's peace negotiations with the Palestinians and Syria.

(Writing by Ori Lewis; editing by Philippa Fletcher)