Last update - 00:00 17/10/2006
FM Livni calls on President Katsav to resign post
By Fadi Iyadat, Yuval Yoaz and Jonathan Lis, Haaretz Correspondents and Haaretz Staff
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni (Kadima) on Tuesday called on President Moshe Katsav to resign in response to the police's recommendation to indict him on a number of charges including rape.
"In the current situation, almost without connection to the criminal question, I believe that it would not be right for President Katsav to continue to serve as president," said Livni.
Livni made the comments at a ceremony marking the opening of "Kadima House" in Hadera.
"Due to the fact that he [Katsav] has announced that, should he be indicted - which could happen in the coming days - he will resign anyways, then we can wait a few days," said the foreign minister. "But the current situation is not appropriate."
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Tuesday that he he was not ruling out the possibility of supporting a non-political figure as the next president.
However, the prime minister also reiterated his stance that he is not addressing the question of who will replace President Moshe Katsav, seeing as he Katsav not been indicted and has not decided to resign yet.
Olmert spoke to reporters while en route to Moscow on Tuesday for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and said he would not address the issue of the new president until he returns to Israel.
On Tuesday night, Israeli diplomats questioned whether Katsav should be allowed to sign off on documents stating they are the country's representatives overseas, Channel 10 reported. The diplomats said they did not believe Katsav should be the one signing the papers.
The Jerusalem District Prosecutor's Office has begun formulating the indictment that will be submitted against Katsav, Haaretz has learned.
The draft indictment, together with the legal opinion of Jerusalem District Prosecutor Eli Abarbanel will be handed over to Attorney General Menachem Mazuz and State Prosecutor Eran Shendar within two weeks. Mazuz will have to decide whether to adopt the draft and legal opinion as is, or whether to introduce changes in the indictment.
Acting Justice Minister Meir Sheetrit said Monday morning that there was no cause for the president to submit his resignation before an indictment is filed. Katsav's attorney said Tuesday that the president would resign when and if he were charged with a crime.
Since the outset of the police investigation, legal experts at the prosecutor's office have been examining whether the evidence can be translated into an indictment.
The drawing up of the draft is an indication that the district prosecutor's legal opinion will be similar to the police's recommendations that were presented to Mazuz two days ago. But until the draft is completed, there is no certainty the indictment will cover all the clauses for which the police found an evidentiary basis.
Justice Ministry sources last night refused to confirm the information, saying this was "an internal process."
The president has decided that he will resign if Mazuz decides that he is pressing charges, Katsav's attorney, Zion Amir, said Monday. But it was unclear whether Katsav would step down if Mazuz decided in principle - subject to a hearing - to bring him to trial, or whether he would wait until the decision was final following a hearing.
"The president is determined not to step down now," a source close to Katsav said. "Until the attorney general decides there is sufficient evidence for an indictment against him, he will remain in office. But if the attorney general announces there is sufficient evidence for an indictment, he will resign immediately."
At any rate, Katsav does not plan to forgo his right to have a hearing that will take place with the attorney general, the president's confidants said. "We are hoping the attorney general will reject the police recommendations," Amir said Monday.
Katsav and his close circle were most surprised by the gravity of the police recommendations, particularly those related to rape, wiretapping, and obstruction of justice. They were also surprised that the police did not find sufficient evidence of extortion by A., a former employee of the President's Residence who had filed a complaint against Katsav.
"The president was surprised and astounded at the police recommendations, and is convinced that the prosecution and attorney general will be convinced that there is no evidence to support the suspicions," the President's Residence said.
The police formulated an evidentiary basis for charging Katsav on four different counts of rape involving two of his employees. Three of them are attributed to Katsav on the basis of A.'s complaints, and one was submitted by a woman who worked under him in the Tourism Ministry. In both cases, there is only circumstantial evidence and no DNA samples or fingerprints.
Throughout his investigation, Katsav denied all these accusations. But police sources said that many of Katsav's versions were found to be baseless.
Four complaints from women who worked under Katsav at the Transportation Ministry were not included, since they fell under the statute of limitations. All of these referred to harassment and not sexual abuse.
Meanwhile, Katsav is continuing with his regular daily routine, saying that he is convinced that no indictment will be served against him. The president feels that he has been treated unfairly when compared with other public figures who became involved in suspicions of criminal transgressions.
The police and prosecution have yet to decide whether to press charges against senior President's Residence officials including director general Moshe Goral, who is suspected of involvement in wiretapping. A decision has also not been made regarding charges against some businessmen who have been interrogated over a number of issues including Uri Yoeli, a close friend of Katsav's.
The police did not find criminal evidence regarding the president's granting illegal pardons, but sources said the investigation had revealed irregularities, which were described by a police source as "borderline."
There are differences of opinion between the police and prosecution regarding A., who was suspected of trying to extort the president. Katsav gave police a cassette containing material involving A., but the police were unable to determine whether it constituted an extortion attempt.
Legal experts at the prosecutor's office, on the other hand, believe there are grounds for charging her with extortion. Mazuz will have to decide.
Katsav spent many hours Monday trying to determine whether to attend Monday's opening Knesset winter session. Meanwhile, he received information from friends that some Knesset members intended to express their protest if he entered the plenum.
Following a telephone conversation with Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik Monday morning, Katsav opted to skip the festive opening. President's Residence sources attributed little importance to the decision. They said that unlike the opening of a new Knesset, the winter session opening did not legally require the president's presence.
Katsav's decision to skip the event was met with relief at the Knesset. The chairman of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, MK Menahem Ben Sasson (Kadima), said he respected the way the president considered a request by some MKs to cancel his appearance, helping to uphold the honor of the presidency and the parliament.