AP Breaking: Israeli President Katsav Asks To Be Temporarily Removed From Office

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Jan 24, 8:25 AM EST
AP News Alert
JERUSALEM (AP) -- A spokesman for the Israeli parliament says President Moshe Katsav has asked to be temporarily removed from office.

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Jan 24, 8:29 AM EST
Israeli President Urged to Resign

By RAVI NESSMAN
Associated Press Writer

JERUSALEM (AP) -- A spokesman for the Israeli parliament says President Moshe Katsav has asked to be temporarily removed from office. Israel's politically powerful justice minister meantime led the growing chorus of calls Wednesday for Katsav to resign as charges of rape and abuse of power loom.

Attorney-General Meni Mazuz notified the president on Tuesday that he planned to indict him, but would first give Katsav, who has maintained silence since, an opportunity to plead his case before him. Katsav, 61, has said he is innocent of assaulting the four women who have accused him. His lawyers hope to use the hearing before Mazuz to persuade him to drop his plans to press charges.

While Katsav is innocent until proven guilty, "he should not be waging the battle to prove his innocence from the president's office," Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who also serves as foreign minister, said in a statement.

"Minister Livni is convinced that resignation would be the appropriate action at this time," the statement said.

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Israeli president takes leave of absence: report
Wed Jan 24, 2007 8:13am ET
By Jeffrey Heller

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli President Moshe Katsav informed parliament on Wednesday he was taking a leave of absence after prosecutors announced they intended to charge him with rape and other sexual offences, Channel Two television said.

Katsav's self-imposed suspension from his largely ceremonial duties stopped short of meeting mounting demands by legislators that he resign ahead of what would be an unprecedented criminal indictment of an Israeli head of state.

Channel Two said Katsav told parliament in a letter he was suspending himself from office. A spokesman for parliament was not immediately available for comment. Katsav's office did not confirm the report and said the president would make a public statement at 7 p.m. (1700 GMT).

More: http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2007-01-24T131326Z_01_L2334752_RTRUKOC_0_US-ISRAEL-PRESIDENT.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsHome-C3-worldNews-2

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