Sharon probe dropped due to lack of evidence

Israel’s attorney general today dropped a corruption case against Ariel Sharon, ending months of uncertainty over the prime minister’s political future and boosting chances for a withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005.

Attorney General Meni Mazuz said he is not indicting Sharon on bribe-taking charges because of lack of evidence. Mazuz informed Sharon of the decision by phone before holding a news conference.

The decision clears the way for Sharon to court the opposition Labour Party, which has said it would only consider joining the government if the prime minister is cleared of bribe-taking allegations.

Sharon needs Labour to restore the parliamentary majority he lost as a result of the dismissal or defection of Cabinet hard-liners opposed to a Gaza withdrawal.

He wants to remove Israeli soldiers and settlers from Gaza by the end of 2005.

At the centre of the corruption case were accusations that Israeli businessman David Appel paid Sharon’s son Gilad hundreds of thousands to help push through a lucrative property deal in Greece, at a time when Sharon was foreign minister in 1999.

In the end, the project did not go through.

Appel has been indicted for allegedly paying bribes but under Israeli law, prosecutors must prove that the recipient of a bribe was aware of the improper payments. Sharon has denied wrongdoing.

Mazuz said there was no solid evidence against Sharon.

”The evidence in this case does not bring us anywhere close to a reasonable chance of conviction,” he said in Jerusalem.

Even with the end of the investigation, Sharon’s legal problems may not be over. Israeli prosecutors are also probing Sharon and his sons for allegedly receiving an illegal £1m (€1.5m) loan from a South African based British businessman. Sharon has denied any wrongdoing in that case.

The opposition party Yahad said it plans to appeal Mazuz’s decision to the Supreme Court.

“A decision by Mazuz not to bring (Sharon) to trial cannot be the end of this,” Yahad MP said. “It has to go to the court system to be examined at the highest level, by the Supreme Court, and only its decision will put an end to this affair.”