Former president Moshe Katsav, in his first public comments since signing a plea bargain that spared him a rape trial and possible prison sentence, expressed outrage at what he termed a trial by the public, saying "we can't allow the protesters in the town square to decide who is indicted and what his punishment will be."

The former president added that the investigation material against him "speaks for itself," and termed it "fictitious material."

Over the past year, at least ten women have accused Katsav of various sexual offenses.

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On Thursday, Katsav signed a plea agreement, in which both rape counts against him were dropped from the indictment. In exchange, Katsav confessed to three charges - indecent assault, sexual harassment and harassing a witness - and will receive a suspended sentence.

The High Court of Justice however has put the agreement on hold, ordering the state to explain why it backed off from planned rape charges.

For the first time, Katsav said during the interview that he plans to confess to the charges against him, as his lawyers agreed under the terms of the plea bargain.

"I will respect the agreements made in the past between my lawyers and the attorney general," Katsav said. "We didn't force the plea bargain on anyone. Ninety percent of the allegations were thrown in the trash and that doesn't interest anybody."

Katsav hinted at a plot to topple him. "In a dictatorship they kill to bring down a president," he said. "It turns out that in a democracy, too, they can shed one's blood."

Katsav added that "this alone indicates the magnitude of the campaign of incitement and unconscionable ease with which libel and false allegations can be spoken, causing a man and his family to fall apart. It is very troublesome."

The former president also addressed his mental state, and the mental state of his family, over the past year saying "you can imagine what we went through during an entire year of incitement and persecution, an entire year during which we didn't have a single moment of peace. It was a constant battle to prove my innocence."

"I drew strength first and foremost from the truth, and I waited and believed the truth would surface. I drew strength from [my wife] Gila and the children. A lot of strength is required to overcome such an awful year. I don't wish this even on my enemies," Katsav said.

The interview showed a calm, soft-spoken Katsav, a sharp contrast to his 50-minute televised tirade last January that followed the announcement that Attorney General Menachem Mazuz intended to press rape charges. He blamed the news media for a witch hunt against him, implying he was a target because he represents Jews of Middle East origin.

The mother of A., one of the women who have accused Katsav of rape, told Channel 10 news in a separate interview Tuesday evening that a man had come to their home and threatened her to prevent her daughter from filing a complaint. "A religious-looking man knocked on my door one morning and said to me 'if your daughter remains quiet, the president will also remain quiet.'"

The woman said that she replied "my daughter will not remain quiet over what has been done to her."

The mother said the plea bargain granted to Katsav was an affront to women who had the courage to speak out against their attackers.

"I sent my daughter off to work at a dependable place, the President's Residence, I didn't think these things would be done to her there," the mother concluded.