Prosecutor Urges Sharon Indictment Over Bribery

Some Israeli cabinet ministers and Knesset members agreed Sharon should step down if proved guilty.

Attorney General Menachem Mazuz will decide whether to press charges against Sharon after taking into account recommendations submitted by State Prosecutor Edna Arbel, Haaretz said.

Although Arbel’s recommendation is not binding it carries considerable weight.

Former Israeli police minister Moshe Shahal told Israel Radio "it’s a recommendation that will be hard to ignore."

Ofir Pines-Paz, a leading lawmaker from the opposition Labor Party, agreed, telling the Israel Army Radio that "the attorney general won’t be able to ignore the state attorney’s opinion."

Arbel’s pro-indictment position is supported by the four senior staff members in the State Prosecutor’s Office who worked on bribery charges in the so-called Greek Island affair.

Adamant Deputy State Prosecutor Navah Ben-Or has also become convinced the case was solid and can be presented in a court of law.

Sharon has been interrogated by police on numerous occasions over the affair which is related to the financing of his 1999 campaign for the Likud party leadership.

Israeli businessman David Appel, a key behind-the-scene figure in the right-wing Likud party, was indicted last January by Tel Aviv Magistrates court for giving Sharon, his son Gilad and deputy Ehud Olmert hundreds of thousands of dollars to promote a huge tourism project in Greece.

In his capacity as foreign minister in the1990 s Sharon, Appel’s indictment sheet said, tried to help win Greek government approval for Appel’s plan and helped the Israeli tycoon in real estate dealings "before and after becoming prime minister".

Appel’s indictment further said that Sharon and Olmert were "active participants in the bribery deals".

Resignation

The possible indictment of Sharon has sent shockwaves across the political landscape in Israel with calls for the hawkish premier to step down.

"Under such circumstances, the prime minister should resign," Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted National Infrastructure Minister Yosef Paritzky as saying.

"If he is charged, the prime minister should submit his resignation and not merely suspend his activities," said Paritzky, a member of the centrist Shinui party, the second largest faction in Sharon’s ruling coalition.

He stressed that Sharon would not be in a position to run the country as he needs to "devote himself entirely to his defense".

Uzi Landau, a minister without portfolio and a Likud member, said the prime minister should at least suspend himself if charges are filed.

Former justice minister Yossi Beilin, the leader of the left-wing Yahad party, also pressed Sharon to quit.

"It would be incredible if Sharon were to remain prime minister if he is charged even if the law allows him," he said.

Most ministers refused to make any comment as they entered a cabinet meeting Sunday but Tourism Minister Benny Elon, of the far right National Union party, praised Arbel’s "courage".

MK Ran Cohen (Meretz) on Saturday had urged Sharon to save whatever dignity remains in Israel’s democracy and resign before a recommendation is submitted to the attorney general.

He said Sharon has already earned a place in Israel’s history as the leader who brought the country unprecedented security and economic calamities.

Sharon was grilled by Israeli police last October over a simmering corruption scandal involving his two sons.

He had been accused of using a1 .5-million-dollar loan from South African businessman Cyril Kern to return contributions for his 1999 campaign for the Likud leadership.