Netanyahu: Katsav should resign

Chairman of the Likud party says even the president is not above the law.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
netanyahu 298.88 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
netanyahu 298.88
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
Netanyahu told Israel Radio that the "difference between Israel and Iran" was that President Moshe Katsav, facing criminal charges, would appear in court, whereas Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad faced no consequences for violating "any laws, even international ones." Asked if Katsav should have resigned following Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz's decision to indict him for rape, Netanyahu said that he had expected Katsav to resign and believed that it would have been the appropriate course of action. However, Netanyahu stressed that Katsav deserved his day in court, and expressed hope that the hearing process would be over as quickly as possible. Netanyahu also objected to proposals to change the vote for president from a secret to an open ballot, calling it "changing the rules mid-game." He said that any changes to the presidential election process should be implemented only after a new president has taken office. He added that Israel's president should be chosen in a general election. Meanwhile, Katsav attorneys Zion Amir and David Liba'i said Friday that it would take them approximately two months to review all the material pertaining to the president's case, only after which they would set a hearing date with Mazuz. Mazuz is expected to publish his decision on the matter within a month from the conclusion of the proceedings.