Knesset approves Katsav's temporary leave
While President Moshe Katsav is interrogated over sexual assault accusations by former employee, Knesset committee approves his request for a temporary abstention from his formal duties
The Knesset House Committee approved President Moshe Katsav's request to temporarily abstain from formal duties, namely the swearing-in ceremony of Justice Dorit Beinish as High Court President.
Twelve MKs voted in favor of the request, six voted against it, and three abstained.
In a letter sent to Knesset speaker Dalia Itzik, Katsav said he doesn't want to stain the ceremony while he is still being interrogated by police officers.
Katsav was interrogated for the fifth time on Wednesday over sexual assault accusation by A., a former secretary.
Katsav rejected calls by MKs to step down until the end of the investigation. Knesset speaker Dalia Itzik will preside over Beinish's swearing-in ceremony.
But some lawmakers said they'd ask Katsav to step down until the end of the investigation to block his participation in the Knesset opening autumn session.
Many of the Committee's 24 members are abroad, but both Kadima and Likud said their representatives will vote as they see appropriate.
Likud MK Reuven Rivlin said he won't attend the meeting due to his presidential ambitions.
Committee Chairman Ruhama Avraham said she will abstain in the vote, but called on the president to step down while under investigation.
Knesset legal advisor Nurit Elstein told MKs that the investigation's findings are irrelevant to their vote on Katsav's request.
Likud MK Yuval Steinitz drew differences between Katsav and former US president Bill Clinton, saying the latter offered Monica Lewinsky hundreds of thousands of dollars to withdraw her complaint against him, while Katsav accused a former employer of extortion.
Shas MK Nissim Zeev defended Katsav, saying that some have "turned him into a serial rapist, the way in which the investigation is being conducted is a disgrace.
Labor MKs Shelly Yacimovich and Yoram Marciano said Katsav should relinquish his post until the conclusion of the probe.
