Last update - 00:00 24/03/2007
Minister Cabel: Hirchson must consider resigning from his post
By Mazal Mualem, Haaretz Correspondent
Knesset Member Eitan Cabel (Labor) said on Saturday that Finance Minister Avraham Hirchson must weigh resignation "if he has difficulty managing his office because of the allegations he is facing and the police investigation."
In an interview given on Saturday to Israel Radio, Cabel said "it will be difficult for Hirchson to lead a large and complicated post at the time that he is under the pressure of an investigation."
On Friday, several lawmakers called for Hirchson to resign. Meretz Knesset faction leader Yossi Beilin called for Hirchson to immediately hand over control of the Finance Ministry until his personal matters are resolved. Beilin said "The finance minister knows more than any of us the direct and indirect consequences when there are serious allegations of corruption leveled against someone who is in charge of the state's coffers."
MK Ami Ayalon (Labor) called on Hirchson to remove himself from office until the end of the investigation. Ayalon stated, "It is not fitting that a finance minister will continue to serve in his post and receive sensitive economic information considering the charges he is facing. This hurts the civil society of Israel, our international standing, and economic wellbeing."
Kadima MKs are supporting Hirchson in spite of all indications that he can not currently carry out the requirements of his job.
Interior Minister Roni Bar-On, who has been cited as a likely replacement for Hirchson if he leaves or is forced to resign, stated to Israel Radio that "at the moment, there is no legal obligation on Hirchson or on Prime Minister Olmert to take any specific course of action. The attorney general also said this so I don't understand the calls for an immediate removal of Hirchson from his post."