Sharon may face charges over bribes allegation

The Israeli Justice Ministry was today considering whether to indict Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for allegedly accepting bribes, forcing him to step down, after charges were brought against a close associate.

The burgeoning scandal could deflect much of his attention away from Middle East peace efforts, complicating already murky prospects for the “road map” peace plan. Talks have been stalled for months, and neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians have fulfilled the plan’s first steps.

An Israeli court yesterday indicted real-estate developer David Appel for allegedly paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to Mr Sharon.

The prime minister was not charged, but the indictment against Appel increases the chances that he will be. Justice Ministry officials said a decision on Mr Sharon himself would come in weeks or months.

Yossi Sarid of the dovish Meretz opposition party worried that Mr Sharon might try to create a diversion. “He could complicate the country in military or political adventures,” he said. “He could get us caught up in a little war.”

The focus of the scandal is widely known as the “Greek Island Affair” – in which Mr Sharon’s son Gilad allegedly received large sums from Appel, an activist in Mr Sharon’s Likud Party who was trying to promote a massive tourism project in Greece in 1999. Mr Sharon was then foreign minister.

Opposition politicians urged Mr Sharon to resign now, and a leadership struggle in the ruling Likud Party already was brewing. “No one is ready now to call on him to resign. But they expect that … it will come in time,” said Hanan Crystal, a veteran political analyst with Israel Radio.

Mr Sharon’s office said the prime minister went about his usual business on yesterday.

His spokesman, Asaf Shariv, said Mr Sharon could not comment on the case because of the pending investigation. “I can guarantee there will not be an indictment,” he told The Associated Press.

A former general, Mr Sharon is considered likely to fight a fierce battle to maintain his leadership.

“He will fight until the last bullet,” Mr Crystal said. “But Richard Nixon was a fighter. You cannot fight against everything.”

In order for Mr Sharon to be charged, prosecutors must be convinced that a bribe was accepted with criminal intent. Justice Ministry officials said they expected to complete an investigation within several months, possibly sooner, and decide about an indictment.

Appel was indicted in the Tel Aviv Magistrates Court for allegedly giving Mr Sharon hundreds of thousands of pounds to promote the Greek Island project, and also to help rezone urban land near Tel Aviv before and during Mr Sharon’s term as prime minister.

Mr Sharon was allegedly asked to use his influence to push forward both projects, although neither came to fruition.

During 1998-99, the indictment said, Appel “gave Ariel Sharon a bribe in recognition of activities connected to the fulfilment of his public positions”.

It said Appel sent a total of $690,000 (€544,000) to Mr Sharon’s family ranch in the Negev desert. Appel also promised his support to Mr Sharon in party primary elections, the indictment said.

The indictment also charged Appel with giving a bribe to vice premier Ehud Olmert to promote the Greek project, when Mr Olmert was mayor of Jerusalem in the late 1990s.

The indictment said Gilad Sharon while hired as a consultant in the Greek project, served as a middleman in accepting the bribes. “(Appel) and Gilad agreed to this arrangement despite the fact that the defendant knew that Gilad had no relevant professional qualifications,” it said.

Appel’s lawyer, Moshe Israel, denied the charges. “There is no doubt he is innocent,” he said.

Still, the indictment further complicated Mr Sharon’s legal problems. He is also being investigated for alleged involvement in illegal campaign financing.

If Mr Sharon is charged, he would be forced to suspend himself from office while the case is pending. But the prime minister could also face pressure from the public and within his own party to step down before that.

“For opponents in his party, this indictment is like a wind in their sails that will set in motion political and coalition opposition,” said Channel Two TV political commentator Amnon Abramowitz.