Israeli State Attorney Moshe Lador on Tuesday defended his decision to indict former prime minister Ehud Olmert who was acquitted of most of the charges against him.

Lador pointed out that he does not regret indicting Olmert, despite the critics he has received after a court acquitted the former premiere in two concurrent trials, while finding him guilty in the third one.

"The law requires us to file an indictment when there is evidence indicating a reasonable chance of conviction," Lador said during a press conference on Tuesday.

Lador also dismissed calls asking for his resignation, saying that "if we had avoided the indictment, we would have been neglecting our duty."

Olmert's indictment led to his resignation in 2008.

He was acquitted on Tuesday of the charges of double billing for trips abroad in the Rishon Tours case and also charges of illegally accepting money from the American businessman Morris Talansky.

However, he was found guilty of breach of trust in the so- called "Investment Center" affair, which dates back to his term as Industry, Trade and Labor minister earlier in the past decade.

In that case, Olmert was charged with awarding favors, including state grants and other benefits, to Uri Messer, his friend and former partner in a private law firm.

Lador defended his decision stating that "we did what had to do, " since he saw enough evidence to indict Olmert.

"According to our belief, in a true democracy the court and prosecution do not always see eye to eye. One cannot look at the acquittal as a professional failure," Lador said responding to criticism arguing that the indictment brought down a government and Olmert's political career.