Israeli President Moshe Katsav (Israeli police have said there is enough evidence to charge Mr Katsav, 60, over allegations of "rape, forced sexual acts, sexual acts without consent and sexual harassment".)

Israel's ministry of justice says it plans to charge the country's largely ceremonial head of state, Moshe Katsav, with rape and abuse of power.

Formal charges against him can be made only after a hearing at which he will be allowed to present his case.

Mr Katsav denies allegations of rape and sexual misconduct made by several female employees in recent months.

The recommendation to indict him comes amid a flurry of corruption allegations against top-level Israeli politicians.

Mr Katsav's lawyers said he was innocent and charges would be dropped after the attorney general heard Mr Katsav's side of the story.

"The president believes that everyone will see that he is the victim of false charges," David Libai said, adding that the president would hold a news conference on Wednesday.

The president enjoys immunity, but he can be impeached or prosecuted after he leaves office.

Mr Katsav's seven-year term ends this year, but his lawyers have previously indicated he might resign if he was indicted.

Attorney General Menachem Mazuz's office issued a statement saying there was enough evidence to support an indictment against Mr Katsav on charges of rape, harassment, abuse of power and obstruction of justice, among other crimes.

Dignity of office

Iranian-born Mr Katsav, 60, was a journalist before standing for parliament as a candidate for the right-wing Likud party in 1977.

He acted as power broker within the party and rose to ministerial positions.

The office is invested with great dignity and prestige in the Israeli political system, but powers are limited. They include pardoning prisoners.

Several MPs have called on Mr Katsav to resign immediately to avoid bringing the office into disrepute.

He was the first member of a right-wing political party to become Israeli president, beating off the challenge of Labour veteran Shimon Peres in 2000.

Mr Katsav's predecessor, Ezer Weizman, left office early in controversial circumstances after the attorney general found he had accepted improper gifts. He was never charged with any crime.

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Embattled Israeli president opts for leave of absence

The Guardian newspaper, Nigeria

Thursday, January 25, 2007

IN an effort to blunt growing calls for his resignation, President Moshe Katsav of Israel who is facing charges of rape and abuse of power yesterday asked the parliament to temporarily allow him to step aside from office.

Katsav has been under intense pressure to quit since Attorney-General Meni Mazuz notified him on Tuesday that he planned to indict him on a rash of charges after a month-long investigation into allegations by four women who worked for him.

The President, who had not commented publicly on the impending charges, stopped short of resigning, which would deprive him of the immunity he enjoys while in office.

Instead, he asked parliament's House Committee to grant his request for a leave of absence that could last up to three months, according to parliamentary spokesman Giora Pordes.

Under Israeli law, the parliamentary panel must approve such a request. It will convene to discuss it today, Pordes said.

The 61-year-old President Katsav has insisted he is innocent of any wrongdoing. Mazuz said that before officially pressing charges, he would give the President an opportunity to plead his case.

Katsav, whose seven-year term is to end this summer, has previously said he would quit if indicted.

Legal authorities have said the charges could carry a sentence of more than 20 years in prison.

The lawmakers and Cabinet officials urged Katsav to give up his fight to stay in office, saying the scandal was tarnishing the Presidency.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has urged Katsav to step aside. "He should not be waging the battle to prove his innocence from the President's office," Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who also serves as Justice Minister, said in a statement.

Minister of Public Security, Avi Dichter, also urged Katsav to step down, saying he "must not cling to the post, not even for a few months."

Meanwhile, dozens of lawmakers have set an impeachment process in motion, mustering enough signatures for parliament to convene a debate on removing the President.

"If the President doesn't announce his resignation tonight, we will launch impeachment proceedings," lawmaker Zehava Galon said.

Stepping aside temporarily would not be enough to end the impeachment push, said Galon's spokeswoman, Idit Shabtay-Sidis. Impeachment would require the support of 90 of parliament's 120 legislators.

No sitting Israeli President has ever been charged with a crime. But the Israeli public has grown accustomed to the spectacle of politicians being put on trial or tainted by corruption allegations.

One former Cabinet minister is currently also being tried in a separate sexual misconduct case, and corruption allegations have reached as high as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, now under investigation for his alleged involvement in the sale of a government-controlled bank.

The allegation that Katsav used his position as Israel's ceremonial head of state to force himself on female employees has left the nation reeling.

"It is a sad day for the state of Israel," said lawmaker Benny Elon, who called on Katsav to resign to spare the nation further trauma.

The office of President was once filled by Zionist legends and revered statesmen, but has lost esteem in recent years.

Katsav's predecessor, the outspoken war hero turned peacemaker Ezer Weizman, resigned in 2000 after the attorney general ruled he had improperly accepted more than $300,000 in gifts from a French millionaire. Weizman was never indicted.

Katsav had a far less lofty resume than his predecessors. He had been a low-level Cabinet minister and a Likud Party stalwart when the parliament chose him to be President in 2000 in a shocking upset over Nobel Peace Prize winner Shimon Peres, after a revered rabbi swung votes by saying a "vision" showed him the heavens favoured Katsav.

But Katsav's relatively quiet Presidency was rocked last summer when one of his female employees accused him of forcing her to have sex in his office. Other women came forward with similar accusations, painting the picture of a politician who had abused his power for years.

In the face of the growing scandal, Katsav disappeared from public life, hunkering down in the President's compound in Jerusalem.

He even briefly removed himself from office in September instead of presiding over the inauguration of a new chief justice for the Supreme Court.

On Tuesday, Mazuz said he had collected enough evidence to indict Katsav on charges of rape, harassment, abusing his power for sex, obstructing justice and illegally distributing gifts.

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Africans In America News Watch analysis

This could happen only in civilized world – a government agency bringing charges on a powerful politician, a sitting President for that matter.

Any lessen for the African leaders? Africa has a long way to go.

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