Post by Salem6 on Jan 22, 2004 10:12:51 GMT
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says he has no intention of standing down over a corruption case.
"I am not about to resign," Israeli media quoted him as saying on Thursday, a day after prosecutors said they were considering charging him.
The scandal could spell serious trouble for Sharon
An Israeli businessman has been charged with offering millions of dollars in bribes to Mr Sharon, his deputy and one of Mr Sharon's sons.
The Israeli leader was questioned last year and denies any wrongdoing.
SHARON POLL RESULTS
PM involved in misconduct - 53%
Should step down if proven - 63%
Maariv newspaper
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Should resign or step down temporarily - 49%
Should continue - 38%
Dahaf Institute
The BBC's David Chazan in Jerusalem says Mr Sharon's political credibility is taking a battering.
The prime minister himself is so far not facing any charges, but Justice Ministry officials say they are weighing up evidence against him and will decide whether he should be charged in the next few weeks or months.
Our correspondent says his future hangs on that decision, because if charged he will almost certainly have to leave office.
Around half of Israelis believe Mr Sharon was involved in misconduct and should resign or at least step down temporarily, according to opinion polls.
On Wednesday, opposition MPs tabled a no-confidence motion against Mr Sharon which will go before the parliament on Monday.
PREVIOUS SCANDALS
1977 - Yitzhak Rabin resigns after wife found to have US bank account
1999 - Binyamin Netanyahu resigns over allegations of misuse of state funds
2001- Ehud Barak questioned over alleged fundraising irregularities in 1999 election campaign
None of these cases ever came to trial
"The prime minister should resign from his post," said former Labour finance minister Avraham Shochat.
"He should already have resigned in the light of earlier events, what happened today is just an extra. He is polluting the atmosphere," he said.
Parliamentary leaders of Mr Sharon's right-wing Likud party are also reportedly preparing a bill on procedures for replacing a prime minister who resigns.
Property deal
Mr Sharon is not the first Israeli prime minister to be accused of corruption but he is the first to be named in charges issued by state prosecutors against someone else.
Property developer Appel has been indicted for offering bribes
David Appel has been charged with trying to bribe the Israeli leader, his son Gilad and Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in the late 1990s, in return for their help in a Greek property deal.
Mr Appel is also said to have helped Mr Sharon campaign for the Likud leadership.
Prosecutors say money was in effect used as a bribe for Mr Sharon, who was then foreign minister, though the payment was said to have been made to Gilad and not to his father.
Police are also pursuing a separate investigation into the Sharon family: Gilad Sharon and his brother, Omri, are known to have accepted about $1.5m from a friend of the prime minister, South African businessman Cyril Kern.
Analysts say the Kern affair poses no imminent threat to Mr Sharon's grip on power, but the latest allegations are the most specific and detailed to emerge so far.
Video:-
The BBC's David Chazan
"The prime minister and Mr Appel both deny any wrongdoing"news.bbc.co.uk/media/video/39767000/rm/_39767747_sharon19_chazan21_vi.ram
"I am not about to resign," Israeli media quoted him as saying on Thursday, a day after prosecutors said they were considering charging him.
The scandal could spell serious trouble for Sharon
An Israeli businessman has been charged with offering millions of dollars in bribes to Mr Sharon, his deputy and one of Mr Sharon's sons.
The Israeli leader was questioned last year and denies any wrongdoing.
SHARON POLL RESULTS
PM involved in misconduct - 53%
Should step down if proven - 63%
Maariv newspaper
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Should resign or step down temporarily - 49%
Should continue - 38%
Dahaf Institute
The BBC's David Chazan in Jerusalem says Mr Sharon's political credibility is taking a battering.
The prime minister himself is so far not facing any charges, but Justice Ministry officials say they are weighing up evidence against him and will decide whether he should be charged in the next few weeks or months.
Our correspondent says his future hangs on that decision, because if charged he will almost certainly have to leave office.
Around half of Israelis believe Mr Sharon was involved in misconduct and should resign or at least step down temporarily, according to opinion polls.
On Wednesday, opposition MPs tabled a no-confidence motion against Mr Sharon which will go before the parliament on Monday.
PREVIOUS SCANDALS
1977 - Yitzhak Rabin resigns after wife found to have US bank account
1999 - Binyamin Netanyahu resigns over allegations of misuse of state funds
2001- Ehud Barak questioned over alleged fundraising irregularities in 1999 election campaign
None of these cases ever came to trial
"The prime minister should resign from his post," said former Labour finance minister Avraham Shochat.
"He should already have resigned in the light of earlier events, what happened today is just an extra. He is polluting the atmosphere," he said.
Parliamentary leaders of Mr Sharon's right-wing Likud party are also reportedly preparing a bill on procedures for replacing a prime minister who resigns.
Property deal
Mr Sharon is not the first Israeli prime minister to be accused of corruption but he is the first to be named in charges issued by state prosecutors against someone else.
Property developer Appel has been indicted for offering bribes
David Appel has been charged with trying to bribe the Israeli leader, his son Gilad and Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in the late 1990s, in return for their help in a Greek property deal.
Mr Appel is also said to have helped Mr Sharon campaign for the Likud leadership.
Prosecutors say money was in effect used as a bribe for Mr Sharon, who was then foreign minister, though the payment was said to have been made to Gilad and not to his father.
Police are also pursuing a separate investigation into the Sharon family: Gilad Sharon and his brother, Omri, are known to have accepted about $1.5m from a friend of the prime minister, South African businessman Cyril Kern.
Analysts say the Kern affair poses no imminent threat to Mr Sharon's grip on power, but the latest allegations are the most specific and detailed to emerge so far.
Video:-
The BBC's David Chazan
"The prime minister and Mr Appel both deny any wrongdoing"news.bbc.co.uk/media/video/39767000/rm/_39767747_sharon19_chazan21_vi.ram