President Moshe Katsav is choosing not to resign. In response to Attorney General Menachem Mazuz's decision to indict the president, Katsav's attorneys appealed to Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik, asking that he be granted a temporary suspension.
The president will hold a press conference Wednesday evening, in which he is expected formally to announce his request for temporary suspension.
Knesset Member Ruhama Avraham, head of the Knesset's House Committee, said that she had received the president's appeal.
- "I plan to convene the committee tomorrow morning," Avraham said in a special press conference. "This is done under sad circumstances and in a moment of sadness and sorrow. For the first time in the history of the State of Israel, the attorney general has decided that there was reason to indict the president."
MK Avraham added that it was no secret that public figures have called on the president to resign. She said that she also, "as a Knesset member, a woman and a citizen of Israel," expected the president to announce his resignation.
The committee members are expected to also discuss the proposals of MKs Zahava Gal-On, Yoran Marciano and Shelly Yacimovich to launch an impeachment procedure.
Suspension to delay indictment
According to Israeli law, the president can proclaim an inability to fulfill his duty and ask to receive a three-month suspension. The authority to approve such a request lies with the Knesset House Committee.
If a temporary suspension is granted in this case, Katsav's political immunity would remain protected, thus delaying an indictment.
Dr. Suzie Navot, an expert in constitutional law in Israel, explained: "A temporary suspension is still considered part of the president's tenure and, thus, he cannot be indicted at that time."
"The same rules would apply to him as would apply to someone sick or out of the country. The Speaker of the House acts as president at this time, but the president is still considered to hold his office," she said.
At the end of the suspension, the president has the option of appealing for an additional temporary suspension of up to three months.
In the half year that Katsav was under investigation, he used such an option of temporary suspension only once.