Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert is due to appear in court on Friday after being indicted on three counts of corruption, the first ex-premier to face criminal charges.

"The session is due to start in Jerusalem district court on Friday morning," at 8:00am justice ministry spokesperson Moshe Cohen told AFP.

Olmert, who will be 64 next on Wednesday, was indicted on three counts of corruption on 30 August the latest in a long list of Israeli politicians who have fallen foul of the law.

The 61-page charge sheet includes allegations of "fraud, breach of trust, registering false corporate documents and concealing fraudulent earnings."

All the charges concern actions Olmert allegedly took before he became prime minister in May 2006, first as mayor of Jerusalem and later as trade and industry minister.

Olmert has insisted on his innocence although he resigned under pressure last September. He remained in office as caretaker until late March when hardliner Benjamin Netanyahu, elected in February, was sworn in.

The former prime minister expects the trial to vindicate him.

"After having deposed an acting prime minister, it is obvious that the attorney general and the state prosecutor have no other choice than to indict Olmert," close aide Amir Dan said after the charges were filed in August.

"The court of justice on the other hand is clean of such foreign considerations. Therefore Olmert is convinced that in court he will be able to prove his innocence once and for all," he added.

Olmert is accused of unlawfully accepting gifts of cash-stuffed envelopes from Jewish-American businessman Morris Talansky and of multiple-billing foreign trips in the so-called Rishon Tours affair.

He has also been charged with cronyism in relation to an investment centre he oversaw when he was minister of trade and industry between 2003 and 2006.

Attorney General Menahem Mazuz dropped three other corruption investigations against Olmert, whom Time Magazine named Israel's most able politician when he became prime minister.

In his final months in office, Olmert was subjected to repeated police interrogations which prompted a wave of calls for him to step down.

Nevertheless, during that time he oversaw Israel's 22-day onslaught on the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip that left 1400 Palestinians dead and wreaked widespread destruction in the impoverished enclave.

Israel has been dogged by scandals involving public officials in recent years, with three former ministers handed prison sentences and both of the country's most recent former presidents resigning in disgrace.

And in August, police recommended that current Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman be indicted for bribery, money laundering and obstruction of justice.

Former president Moshe Katsav is on trial on several counts of rape, sexual harassment and indecent acts.

And on September 1, ex-cabinet ministers Avraham Hirshon and Shlomo Benizri went to jail, the former for embezzling one million dollars and the latter for bribery and fraud.