Attorney General Menachem Mazuz claimed yesterday that there was sufficient evidence to charge outgoing President Moshe Katsav with rape, even though both counts of rape were dropped from the plea bargain that Mazuz reached with Katsav's attorneys.

Speaking at a news conference, Mazuz said that the prosecution discovered "problems with the evidence" that raised doubts about its ability to obtain a conviction. This, he said, was a major factor in the prosecution's agreement to drop the rape charges.

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As part of the plea bargain, Katsav is expected to present Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik with his resignation this morning. On Sunday morning, 48 hours later, the prosecution will present the amended indictment against Katsav to the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court.

Mazuz said the indictment will include one count of forcible indecent assault, stressing that this is a "serious criminal charge." The president will also be charged with sexual harassment and harassing a witness.

"The president will plead guilty to three charges and will receive a suspended sentence and be ordered to pay compensation to the complainants," Mazuz said, adding that while many other complaints had been filed against Katsav, most were either difficult to prove or the statute of limitations had run out.

According to the agreement, Katsav will plead guilty to forcible indecent assault against a complainant who worked under him when he was tourism minister. He will also admit to sexual harassment of another complainant who worked for him in the President's Residence. However, the indictment will include no charges relating to another employee of the President's Residence, A., who was the first to file a complaint against him.

Justice Ministry sources noted that the one felony to which Katsav will plead guilty - forcible indecent assault - carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison. Nevertheless, the agreement says that the prosecution will ask the judges to impose only a suspended sentence plus payment of compensation: NIS 35,000 to the former Tourism Ministry employee and NIS 15,000 to the other complainant.

Katsav will also pay the state NIS 15,000 for silver goblets belonging to the President's Residence that he allegedly gave as personal gifts; in exchange, all charges relating to that offense will be dropped.

The negotiations over the plea bargain began about a month ago, shortly after Mazuz's hearing for the president's attorneys. But Mazuz rejected the defense attorneys' initial proposal, which was to close the case in exchange for the president's resignation, as had been done in Ezer Weizman's case. He insisted that an indictment of some kind must be submitted, and that it must include both more than one sexual offense and more than one complainant, "to reflect the serial nature of the acts."

With regard to the Tourism Ministry employee in particular, he also insisted that the indictment show that Katsav had committed a large number of indecent acts over a period of time, rather than an isolated act.

Mazuz said he believes the agreement was in the public's interest. "This agreement minimizes the harm to the institution of the presidency," the attorney general said. "It was important to spare Israel the sight of a president on trial."