Labour alliance likely after Sharon probe dropped
Israel's attorney general dropped a corruption probe into Ariel Sharon today, ending months of uncertainty over the prime minister's political future and boosting prospects of an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005.
Attorney General Meni Mazuz said that he would not indict Sharon on bribe-taking charges. He said the evidence “does not bring us anywhere close” to being sufficient for a conviction.
The decision clears the way for Sharon to court the opposition Labour Party, which has said it would consider joining the government only if the prime minister was cleared of corruption allegations.
Sharon needs the moderate Labour to restore the parliamentary majority he lost as a result of the dismissal or defection of Cabinet hard-liners opposed to a Gaza withdrawal.
He wants to remove Israeli soldiers and settlers from Gaza by the end of 2005. Labour favours withdrawing from most of the West Bank as well.
Labour Party leader Shimon Peres said he was glad for Sharon, but so far his party had not been asked to begin formal talks about joining the government.
He gave a clear indication that when the question comes, the answer would be positive: “The Labour Party has only one consideration – what will promote peace, what will hasten the evacuation of the Gaza Strip.”
Sharon and Labour teamed up during Sharon’s first term as premier from 2001 to 2003, but the government broke apart over the issue of funding settlements. Wary after the experience, many Labour stalwarts oppose reconstituting the team, preferring to bring down the Sharon government and force elections.
However, Peres, 80, appears intent on guiding his party back into the coalition, where he would expect to receive a top position – possibly foreign minister.
The decision to drop the corruption case reinforces Sharon’s shaky hold on power. Had Mazuz decided to indict Sharon, the premier would probably have been forced to step down, at least temporarily.
At the centre of the corruption case were claims that Israeli businessman David Appel paid Sharon’s son Gilad hundreds of thousands of pounds to help push through a lucrative property deal in Greece, at a time when Sharon was foreign minister in 1999. In the end, the project failed.
Mazuz also closed the case against Gilad Sharon.
Appel has been indicted for allegedly paying bribes, but under Israeli law, prosecutors must prove that the recipient of a bribe was aware of the improper payments. Sharon denied wrongdoing.
Mazuz said there was no solid evidence against Sharon. “The evidence in this case does not bring us anywhere close to a reasonable chance of conviction,” he said. Mazuz refused to answer questions from reporters.
He insisted that rules for premiers must be the same as rules for ordinary citizens. In his lengthy statement, he did not criticise Sharon’s actions in the failed deal.
Critics wondered how a business associate could be indicted for bribing Sharon and the state prosecutor recommended indicting the premier – but the attorney general had not even one unfavourable word to say about Sharon.
Israel Radio’s legal commentator, Moshe Negbi, was incredulous. “Someone who is now a Supreme Court justice, ” he said, referring to then-state prosecutor Edna Arbel, ”decided to indict the prime minister without anything approaching a reasonable chance of conviction?”
Justice Minister Joseph Lapid endorsed the Mazuz findings but sounded a warning about corruption in Israel in general. “There are some aspects of capital and government that disturb me and should disturb every law-abiding citizen, but right now this isn’t found in this report,” he said.
The opposition party Yahad said it would appeal the attorney general’s decision.
“A decision by Mazuz not to bring Sharon to trial cannot be the end of this,” Yahad MP Ran Cohen said. “Only its (the Supreme Court’s) decision will put an end to this affair.”
:: The military intelligence head told a parliamentary committee today that security forces recently foiled a huge Palestinian terror attack.
A participant in the closed meeting said six Palestinian bombers planned to blow themselves up simultaneously in Israel to avenge the assassination of Hamas leaders in Gaza.
In another development, officials said Israel is considering building thousands of new housing units in West Bank settlements, while withdrawing from Gaza.
Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz met settler leaders in Gush Etzion, and security officials said he told them he would consider their request to authorise between 1,000 and 2,000 new homes in the area.
Mofaz told settlers he would make a decision within three months.
