Police Question Sharon Over Bribe Scandal

A businessman friend was indicted by Tel Aviv Magistrates court last month for giving Sharon, his son Gilad and deputy premier Ehud Olmert hundreds of thousands of dollars to promote a huge tourism project in the1990 s.

And prosecutors have said they should decide within months whether to indict the prime minister too — a move many analysts believe would force him from office, Reuters reported.

Commentators say the case could weaken the former general’s hand in any talks with the Palestinians, while critics suggest the announcement this week of his plan to get settlers out of the Gaza Strip might aim to divert attention and wipe off front pages over the issue.

Questioned

Police sources said Sharon would be questioned about the so-called "Greek Island Affair" but gave no further details. While Israeli media had said the questioning would take place at the prime minister’s official residence in occupied Jerusalem.

Sharon, 75 , denies any wrongdoing in the string of corruption scandals, but a few analysts expect a dramatic development in the case on Thursday.

Sharon has rejected opposition calls to resign over the affair and vowed to stay in office at least until the next election in2007 .

But the scandal has dented his popularity, as a poll published on January 22 showed that 53 percent of respondents see Sharon guilty and 63 percent say he should resign if indicted.

Another survey by Haaretz and the Dialogue polling agency, indicates that68 percent of those polled do not believe Sharon’s claim that he knew nothing, heard nothing and saw nothing about the bribery affairs.

If indicted, Sharon could be forced to step down before his mandate ends in2007 , which would be the second time in less than 20 years of his political career.

Sharon was grilled by Israeli police in October 2003 over a simmering corruption scandal, when 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.

He was forced to quit his post as defense minister in 1983 after an Israeli tribunal found him indirectly responsible for the Sabra and Shatila massacre in Lebanon one year earlier.

The Israeli premier went off the hook last year when Belgium scrapped its universal competence law that would have been used to indict him for war crimes against Palestinian civilians in the Sabra and Shatila refugees camps.