Attorney General Menachem Mazuz has instructed the state prosecutor to delay investigations against President Moshe Katsav so they can be completed after he suspends himself from office.

Despite such hopes, Mazuz wants the affair wrapped up within a month. By then, the inquiries will be completed and if Katsav is still president, a decision will be made as to whether to indict him.

The police believe there is sufficient evidence that Katsav harassed a witness and disrupted judiciary proceedings.

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They also suspect that the president exercised excessive pressure on several of his staffers during months of investigations against him. However, the inquiry over such suspicions has yet to be completed. State Prosecutor Eran Shendar has asked detectives to question some of the president's employees over the issue again, while Katsav will also be questioned one last time.

Mazuz has made it clear to the Jerusalem District Attorney's office and police investigation team that he prefers to complete the investigation while Katsav is no longer serving as president. Mazuz believes this would enable his staff to testify freely without fear of the president's reactions.

Meanwhile, only seven MKs have agreed to sign the initiative to convene the Knesset House Committee to discuss ousting Katsav. The law requires 20 signatures to convene the panel. MKs Yoram Marciano (Labor) and Zehava Gal-On (Meretz), who initiated the move, along with Nadia Hilo and Shelly Yachimovitch (Labor), Ran Cohen and Yossi Beilin (Meretz), and Amira Dotan (Kadima) have signed the initiative.

MK Yitzhak Galanti (Pensioners Party) on Monday agreed to Marciano and Gal-On's request to delay by one day a debate over his request to accelerate legislation of his proposal authorizing the Knesset to decide by a majority of votes that the president is incapable of doing his job and force him to go on leave. At present, only the president can decide to take leave due to "temporary incapability."

If legislation is accelerated, the Knesset could complete the amendment to the Basic Law: the President within two weeks. In this case, the Knesset could force the president to suspend himself until the attorney general decides whether or not to indict him.