Israeli jurist urges president to stand down

JERUSALEM, Oct 29 (Reuters) Israel's attorney-general recommended today that President Moshe Katsav stand down until an investigation of rape allegations against him runs its course, the Justice Ministry said.

Menachem Mazuz issued the advisory in response to a High Court petition filed by a private lawyer demanding that Katsav resign in light of a police statement that there was evidence he had raped and sexually molested several female employees. Katsav, 60, has denied wrongdoing. Though his formal functions are largely that of a figurehead, the case has underscored widespread unhappiness in Israel with the national leadership following the inconclusive recent war in Lebanon.

The Justice Ministry quoted Mazuz as telling the High Court that the severity of the allegations against the president should prompt him to ''consider suspending himself from duty by asking parliament to declare him temporarily incapacitated''.

Katsav's office declined comment on Mazuz's advisory.

Katsav has already made use of the temporary incapacitation mechanism since the scandal broke, absenting himself from the swearing-in of the new High Court president earlier this month.

The Justice Ministry is considering whether evidence compiled against Katsav warrants what would be the first prosecution of an incumbent Israeli president on felony charges.

Mazuz, who has final say on whether to go to court, said a trial would require Katsav to stand down pending a verdict.

Once an indictment was served against Katsav, the Justice Ministry said, ''it would be against procedure and propriety for the president to continue in office''.

The case is unlikely to have any direct effect on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government.

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