ISRAEL: Israeli president Moshe Katsav said yesterday he was innocent after the attorney general recommended he stand down until an investigation of rape allegations against him runs its course, Katsav's office said.
"The president reiterates and emphasises that he is a victim to a low plot spun against him and sooner or later it will be proven that the allegations against him are false stories and a lie, and the truth will be brought to light," Katsav's office said.
Mr Katsav's comments were his first public statement since Israel's attorney general, who has the final say on whether to go to court, recommended hours earlier the president stand down until an investigation of rape and other allegations was over.
Attorney general Menachem Mazuz had made comments in response to a High Court petition demanding Mr Katsav resign after police said there was evidence the president raped and molested female employees. Katsav (60) has always denied any wrongdoing.
The case is unlikely to have a direct effect on prime minister Ehud Olmert's government. Mr Katsav's formal functions are largely those of a figurehead.
However, the case has underscored widespread unhappiness in Israel with the national leadership following the inconclusive war in Lebanon earlier this year .
The Justice Ministry quoted Mr Mazuz as telling the High Court that the severity of the allegations against the president should prompt him to "consider suspending himself from duty".
Meanwhile, Egypt stepped-up security measures in northern Sinai, with thousands of troops being sent to districts near the borders with the Gaza Strip.
The move followed reports of a possible Israeli "smart bomb" attack targeting tunnels used for smuggling weapons, and amid calls demanding Israel not to carry on such operation, security officials said today.
Police and security troops were patrolling roads heading in and out of the border town of Rafah, establishing checkpoints, launching raids searching for hideouts and under-border tunnels used by militants to smuggle weapons and explosives to Palestinian territories and carry out attacks on Israel.