Jerusalem ? Israeli authorities said Tuesday they were opening a criminal investigation into Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s role in the sale of one of Israel’s largest banks, the latest setback for the increasingly unpopular leader.

Olmert took another blow early today when the commander of the Israeli military, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, abruptly resigned for the admitted failures of the war.

Officials said the investigation would look into the government’s 2005 sale of a controlling interest in Bank Leumi, one of the country’s largest financial institutions. The state comptroller, a government watchdog, has alleged that Olmert favored business associates during the sale. Olmert was finance minister at the time.