MK Tzachi Hanegbi (Kadima) was indicted yesterday on charges of fraud and breach of trust for allegedly making 69 inappropriate political appointments while serving as environment minister between 2001 and 2003.

The state has also charged Hanegbi with committing election fraud, giving false testimony, taking a false oath and attempting to exert unlawful influence on a voter. The 33-page indictment includes a list of 321 witnesses for the prosecution.

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"During the course of his term of office in the Environment Ministry, the accused acted in a premeditated and systematic way to bring about the appointments of members of the [Likud] Central Committee and their relatives (their sons, their daughters, their friends, etc.) to as many positions and jobs as possible in the ministry and agencies affiliated with the ministry, while prejudicing the chances of the public at large in competing for these positions and jobs, and occasionally without being strict regarding their skills or suitability for the job," the indictment states.

Hanegbi announced yesterday that he was not planning to resign as chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, despite calls from his fellow legislators - including MKs Uri Ariel (National Union-National Religious Party) and Avshalom Vilan (Meretz-Yachad) - that he at least suspend himself from his position.

Hanegbi said he had paid a heavy price for the accusations in 2004, when he resigned as public security minister, a position in which he was responsible for the police investigating him. An opinion prepared by Hanegbi's lawyer, Yaakov Weinroth, stated that there was no connection between the acts cited in the indictment and Hanegbi's position on the Knesset committee.

Meanwhile, Shmuel Hershkowitz, who served as director general of the Environment Ministry when Hanegbi was the minister, was also indicted yesterday. He is accused of being Hanegbi's right-hand man and making the appointments on Hanegbi's behalf.

Likud Central Committee members

According to the charge sheet against Hanegbi, most of the people he appointed to the Environment Ministry or agencies affiliated with the ministry were members of the Likud Central Committee, their relatives or his personal friends. Hanegbi is accused of adding 10 environmental enforcement positions to the ministry's "Green Police," and of choosing the employees from a closed list of 54 names - of which 51 were central committee members or their relatives, and one was a friend.

Other cronies were allegedly appointed as external consultants, human resources personnel and public representatives.

The indictment also states that any of the preferred candidates who failed the civil service exam was given a chance to take it a second and even a third time. Despite Hanegbi's claim to the contrary, the majority of the people he appointed were fired after he left the ministry; 18 are still working there.

Hanegbi said the appointments were reasonable and that candidates should not be ruled out just because they were Likud members or affiliated with Likud members. He added that he was glad the legal proceedings had begun after a long delay, so that he could prove the indictment was baseless and that he did not deviate from the norm that had been in place for dozens of years, and by which dozens of ministers had abided.

Hanegbi didn't try to hide his actions, even going as far as publishing ads in the Likud newsletter to describe his efforts on behalf of central committee members.