JERUSALEM - Israel's attorney general said Tuesday he intends to indict President Moshe Katsav on charges of rape and abuse of power, a stunning accusation against the country's ceremonial head of state.
A final decision on the indictment would be made only after Katsav, who was notified Tuesday, presents his case. If indicted, Katsav would be Israel's first sitting president to be charged with a crime.
The decision by Attorney General Meni Mazuz came just days after authorities launched a criminal investigation into Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's involvement in the sale of a government-controlled bank in 2005. Several other high-level politicians have also been implicated in scandals.
Katsav has denied the charges, arising from complaints made by four women who worked for him during his tenure as president and, before that, as a cabinet minister. Katsav has said he is the victim of a conspiracy by political enemies. The president's office said Tuesday it had no official comment.
Mazuz's office said Tuesday it had collected enough evidence to support an indictment against Katsav on charges of rape, harassment, sexual relations involving the abuse of power, obstruction of justice and illegally accepting gifts.
The president enjoys immunity while in office and could be tried only after his resignation or the end of his term, which is later this year. His lawyers had indicated he would resign if indicted.
Mazuz declined to recommend that Katsav be charged with wire tapping and selling pardons.
"I think that in the end things will become clear, and I don't think it will be what was announced today,'' David Mena, a friend of Katsav's, told Israel's Channel 2. "I'm sure the indictment will be softened.''
Katsav's predecessor, Ezer Weizman, resigned in 2000 just before the end of his term, after the attorney general ruled that he had improperly accepted more than $300,000 in gifts from a French millionaire.
Weizman was never indicted.
