Israeli parliament considers action against president

Israeli politicians today debated whether to grant temporary leave to embattled President Moshe Katsav, who called impending rape and other sexual assault charges the product of “poisonous, horrible lies”.

Yesterday Katsav asked parliament to suspend him from office while he fought to clear his name.

But momentum was building for politicians to launch unprecedented proceedings to remove the president, and top officials, including the premier, beseeched Katsav to stop clinging to office and allow the nation to heal.

“Under these circumstances, there is no doubt in my mind that the president cannot continue to fulfil his position and he must leave the president’s residence,” Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said.

Parliament’s House Committee convened today to consider Katsav’s request for a temporary leave that could be extended for up to six months.

Attorney General Meni Mazuz notified Katsav on Tuesday that he intended to press charges of rape, sexual assault and abuse of power, but said he would first give the president an opportunity to plead his case before him.

Polls published in the country’s two mass-circulation dailies showed most Israelis want Katsav to quit now.

A poll of 516 people by the Dahaf Research Institute for Yediot Ahronot showed 71% of respondents saying he should resign at once, while 29% said he need not quit right now.

The Maariv newspaper ran a survey of 400 people by pollsters Teleseker, which said 67% of those questioned thought Katsav should step down, while 21% did not. A further 2.5% said they didn’t know.

Resignation or dismissal would deprive Katsav of his presidential immunity. The 61-year-old Katsav’s seven-year term is to end this summer. If he leaves office early, parliamentary speaker Dalia Itzik would become acting president until the parliament chose a replacement.

Removal of a president requires a 75% majority in the 120-seat parliament, and analysts said it might be difficult to reach such a number. By contrast, a majority of parliament’s 25-member House Committee could approve his request to stand down temporarily.

During his speech yesterday, Katsav said he would resign if indicted. “I will not stay in this house for one more second. I will resign,” he pledged.

The presidency, a mainly ceremonial post, was traditionally filled by statesmen and national heroes who were expected to serve as the moral light of the country. Accusations that Katsav used his position to force himself on female employees have infuriated Israelis.

At a stormy, nationally-televised speech at his official residence last night, Katsav professed his innocence and accused the police and media of working together to bring him down, using terms like “witch hunt” and “McCarthyism”.

He angrily pounded the podium and his voice cracked during a rambling diatribe that lasted nearly an hour.

“Don’t believe the libel, the defamation, the lies. There is only one truth … I am the target of one of the worst attacks in the history of the state of Israel,” he said, gesturing with a pointed finger, pounding on the podium and shouting at a reporter.

He pledged to “fight to my last breath, even if it means a world war, to clear my name”.

He refused to answer questions from reporters in his first appearance before them since the scandal broke six months ago.

Katsav “should not be waging the battle to prove his innocence from the president’s office”, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who also serves as acting justice minister, said in a statement.

Thirty politicians – 10 more than required – signed a motion to begin dismissal proceedings, and nearly 70 have already said they would vote to remove Katsav, according to the office of politician Zehava Galon, who initiated the drive.

In an effort to blunt the protests, Katsav asked parliament yesterday to grant him a leave of absence.

Minister of Public Security Avi Dichter brushed off Katsav’s suggestion, saying he “must not cling to the post, not even for a few months”.

But the president, who was born in Iran, was defiant and implied that the charges against him were motivated by racism against Israelis of Middle Eastern origin, who had traditionally been marginalised here.

His wife, Gila, sat softly crying in the audience.

No sitting Israeli president has ever been charged with a crime. But the Israeli public has grown accustomed to the spectacle of politicians mired in corruption scandals.

Former Justice Minister Haim Ramon is currently being tried in a separate sexual misconduct case, and Olmert is under investigation for his role in the sale of a government-controlled bank.