The Knesset House Committee on Thursday approved a request by President Moshe Katsav for a leave of absence, following a decision by Attorney General Menachem Mazuz to indict him on a series of charges including rape and sexual harassment.

The request was approved by 13 votes to 11, in line with an informal Haaretz poll of the 25 House Committee members Wednesday.

Katsav's leave of absence will run for three months, or until after a hearing in which Katsav will answer the charges for which Mazuz has indicated he will be indicted.

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The vote means that Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik will become acting president, the first woman to hold the post in Israel's history.

Upon entering the post of president, Itzik called a press conference and said "I regret the fact that we have come to this point. The institution of the presidency is in the midst of a crisis and this is a trying time for all of us."

Itzik emphasized that she is not planning to submit her candidacy for a full presidential term, saying "the rumors that I am a candidate for the position of president when the time comes are not correct." She explained that she is proud of her position as Knesset speaker.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert held an urgent meeting with Itzik on Wednesday.

The committee members who voted in favor of the motion included committee Chairman Ruhama Avraham (Kadima), and other Kadima MKs Avigdor Itzchaky, Ze'ev Elkin, Yoel Hasson, and Shai Hermesh.

Pensioners' Party MKs Moshe Sharoni and Yitzhak Galanti also voted in favor, along with Shas MKs David Azoulay, Nissim Ze'ev, and Yaakov Margi, as well as Esterina Tartman and Lia Shemtov (Yisrael Beitenu), and MohammEd Barakeh (Hadash).

Labor committee members Shelly Yecimovitch, Colette Avital, Michael Melchior, and Nadia Hilou all voted against the motion, along with Likud MKs Gideon Sa'ar, Limor Livnat, and Gilad Erdan.

MKs Zvi Hendel and Eliahu Gabbay (National Union-National Religious Party) also voted against the measure, as did MK Zahava Gal-On (Meretz) and Ahmed Tibi (Ra'am-Ta'al).

During the Thursday debate, Likud MK Limor Livnat told the committee that Katsav has lost the right to hold the position of president, while Labor MK Shelly Yachimovich said that agreeing to the leave of absence would be tantamount granting immunity in the face of criminal proceedings.

The Knesset legal advisor, Nurit Elstein, told the committee that "resignation is the appropriate high road" for Katsav, but added that temporary incapacitation "is within the realm of what is reasonable."

House Committee Chairman Ruhama Avraham said after the vote that many MKs wanted tougher measures against Katsav, and discussions to impeach him could begin next week.

"For many lawmakers it is not suitable and not correct that the president should be able to continue in his role for a single day longer," she said.

Some 30 lawmakers from across the political spectrum have submitted a request for a motion to remove the president from office.

The process of removal, which is also up for deliberation by committee, could last for weeks, Elstein said. For such a move to be approved by the committee, it would need the support of 19 of its 25 members.

In her opening statement, Avraham said she expected the president to resign, calling the precedent-setting deliberations on removing the president "a moment of sadness and shame."

MK Gideon Sa'ar (Likud) slammed Katsav's request for suspension, calling it "a terrible joke." He said that approving such a request would damage public confidence in the government and allow Katsav to continue to serve in an official manner.

Meretz faction whip Zahava Gal-On said that approving such a move would be "a slap in the face for the complainants and for every woman who wants to complain against a figure of authority."

She added that she was disturbed by the "president's expedition of incitement. Every other person suspected of these allegations would have been arrested. Whether or not we approve his incapacitation, it is still the same disgrace."

But MK Michael Eitan (Likud) accused the media of "brainwashing" the public and executing a "media lynch" of Katsav.

Knesset members have not been given sufficient information regarding the affair to determine the president's guilt, Eitan said, adding that Katsav had not yet been officially charged.

MK Gilad Erdan (Likud) said, "whoever things we can succeed in getting both incapacitation and resignation is either lying or does not understand politics." Erdan called on the committee to skip the vote on incapacitation and ask Katsav to resign.

MK Moshe Sharoni (Pensioners' Party) blasted the attorney general for deciding to bring charges against the president during his term in office. "If he had any sense, he would have served the indictment after Katsav's tenure," he said. Katsav, who was elected in 2000, is due to leave office in July.

Some MKs said that they had decided to support the president's request because of his emotional appearance Wednesday night in a televised press conference.

In a letter addressed to the Knesset speaker, Katsav wrote that "the attorney general announced on Tuesday that he intends to bring me to criminal trial unless he is convinced otherwise in a hearing that will be held at a future date. Under these circumstances, I would like to inform the Knesset House Committee that I am temporarily unable to carry out my duties, and I ask that the committee approve this request."

The Basic Law on the President of the State stipulates that at least 20 MKs must file a request to discuss impeachment with the Knesset House Committee. The committee must allow a representative of the president to attend the impeachment deliberations.

Olmert told delegates at the Herzliya Conference on Wednesday that he had no doubt that Katsav could not continue to serve in his position.

"In these circumstances there is no doubt in my heart that the president cannot continue to fulfill his role and must leave the President's Residence," Olmert said. "This is a sad day for the State of Israel."

But the prime minister refrained from calling on the president to resign.

More on the case against Katsav
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