World

Israel's President May Face Rape Charges

January 23, 2007 / 11:14 AM EST / CBS/AP

Israel's attorney-general notified President Moshe Katsav on Tuesday that he plans to indict him 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 is given the opportunity to present his case. If indicted, Katsav would be Israel's first sitting president to be charged with a crime.

The charges stem from complaints by several women who worked for him as president, and before that, as a Cabinet minister, reports CBS News correspondent Robert Berger. Katsav denies the charges, but has said that if he's indicted he would step down.

In other developments:

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert visited new towns in Southern Israel housing some of the 8,000 evacuated settlers evacuated from the Gaza Strip a year-and-a-half ago. And

reports Olmert heard a lot of complaints. The settlers feel abandoned. Some wondered why it took Olmert so long to pay them a visit.

Protesters threw stones and police fired back, after Hezbollah and its allies called a general strike in Lebanon in their latest bid to topple the government of U.S.-backed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, reports CBS News' Edward Yeranian. It had been planned as a peaceful work-stoppage around the country.

Israel has chosen a new army chief after the previous one resigned in the wake of last summer's war in Lebanon. The choice of former general Gabi Ashkenazi for Israeli army chief of staff points to a new direction after the Lebanon War, which was widely seen as a failure. Ashkenazi is an infantry commander, unlike his predecessor Dan Halutz, who headed the air force.

The chief of the Israeli Defense Ministry's mission to Europe is missing in Paris. Police consider suicide the most likely hypothesis, a French national police official said. David Dahan, 54, left a note behind at his Paris home before he disappeared Sunday, in which he described his intention to kill himself, said the police official, who was not authorized to give his name to the media. Dahan had been facing family problems, according to police.

The Israeli army has built a fake Arab city to deal with the real threat of war, reports

. Commanders say soldiers must be prepared for guerrilla warfare because the next conflict is just a matter of time.

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 issued a statement on Tuesday saying that 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.

Katsav is only the latest Israeli politician under a cloud of suspicion while in office. Earlier this month, the anti-fraud unit of the Israeli police opened a criminal investigation into Olmert's role in the sale of one of Israel's largest banks. Prosecutors suspect that Olmert intervened in the sale on behalf of two business associates.

His predecessor, Ariel Sharon, allegedly accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from a real-estate developer, who was charged with giving him the money. Sharon suffered a stroke in December 2005 and remains in a coma.

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.

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, told Israel's Channel 2. "I'm sure the indictment will be softened."