President Moshe Katsav on Monday asked the Knesset House Committee to grant him a one-day leave of absence in order to avoid presiding over the swearing-in of Dorit Beinisch to the position of Supreme Court president.

Katsav has come under public criticism claiming his refusal to step down from office while police investigate accusations he raped a female employee has tarnished the presidency.

The president phoned Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik on Sunday to inform her that he was going to ask for a one-day leave of absence.

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Katsav and Itzik agreed that the committee would hold a special meeting Wednesday to discuss the matter. House Committee chair MK Ruhama Avraham is to cut short a trip abroad to preside over the meeting.

According to the Basic Law on the Presidency, the House Committee can only approve or deny the president's request for a leave because of a temporary inability to carry out his duties, without reference to the amount of time involved. However neither does it have the authority to demand that the president step down for a longer period. Avraham told Haaretz on Sunday she would be proposing an amendment to the basic law that would give the committee leeway to require the president to extend the period of "temporary inability" to carry out his duties.

Lawmakers on Sunday criticized the president's decision to ask for a leave of one day. "The proposal by Katsav and his lawyer is shameful and hurts the institution of the presidency and our national flag," MK Yoram Marciano (Labor) said.

MK Zahava Gal-On (Meretz) said it was "inconceivable that the president would hold a gun to the heads of MKs" to authorize a one-day leave, which she called "an embarrassing and convoluted solution." Gal-On called on her colleagues not to approve the leave so as not to be part of the disgrace the president was causing. Gal-On urged Katsav to respect the institution of the presidency and the Knesset and immediately announce his inability to perform the functions of his office for a three-month period.

Only four members of the committee have said so far they would be prepared to sign a demand to call the House Committee meeting to discuss the president's request for a leave: Gal-On, Marciano, and Shelly Yachimovich and Nadia Hilou (Labor). According to the law, 20 signatures are needed to call a meeting of the House Committee for this purpose.