p
World
Sex Scandal
Call for rape
charge against
president
shows Israeli
attitude shift
on harassment.
Dina Kraft
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Tel Aviv
W
hen Israeli police
recommended that
President Moshe
Katsav be charged with rape and
sexual assault just hours ahead
of the opening of the Knesset's
winter session, lawmakers were
at a loss.
Should they stand to greet
Katsav when he walked in? Would
some lawmakers sit down or
leave the Knesset floor in protest?
Would others jeer and hiss?
Police say Katsav, 60, should be
charged with raping two women
and with fraud. The president,
who has refused to step down
from office, could face up to 16
years in prison if charged and
convicted.
Now that police have issued
their recommendation, the deci-
sion of whether to charge Katsav
will be up to Attorney General
Menachem Mazuz. If charges are
pressed, they would constitute the
most serious ever leveled against
an Israeli leader.
The suspense at the Knesset on
Monday ended when Katsav, who
has insisted on attending official
events throughout the course of
the investigation, bowed to pres-
sure and let a Knesset session
open without a president for the
first time since its founding.
'New Lebanon'?
With Hamas
stockpiling
weapons, Israel
fears a Gaza
quagmire.
sophisticated anti-tank weapons to
inflict losses on Israeli armor and
troops and build strong defense
systems to impede Israel Defense
Forces' movement.
Isiael is determined to nip these
developments in the bud. "We have
learned the lessons of Lebanon':
Defense Minister Amir Peretz was
reported as saying in closed meet-
ings."We won't allow Hamas to
become part of the Iranian axis of
Leslie Susser
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Jerusalem
W
ith Hamas' militia
smuggling millions
of dollars' worth
of weapons into Gaza and Israel
determined to prevent a significant
Palestinian arms build-up, the two
sides could be on the brink of a
major military showdown.
According to Israel Defense
Forces sources, Hamas wants to
emulate Hezbollah's model in
Lebanon: To develop its rocket
threat against Israeli civilians, use
The fact that there's no political
process on the immediate horizon
makes the situation even more
volatile. "Israel is marching ratio-
nally and with its eyes open toward
a head-on confrontation with the
Hamas authority in Gaza. Both
sides are preparing for it, on the
assumption that it is unavoidable':
military analyst Alex Fishman
wrote in Yediot Achronot.
Most of the weapons are being
smuggled into Gaza across the bor-
der with Egypt. Last week alone, an
estimated $6 million worth of arms
and ammunition got through,
IDF sources say. Significantly, the
The lawmakers' reaction and
commentary in the media signify
a possible change in the Israeli
attitude toward sexual harass-
ment. After years where sexual
innuendo often crossed the line
into harassment and even assault,
especially in institutions such
as government and the army,
women in recent years seem to be
speaking out more. The main rea-
son is that the law now protects
them better.
In the case of a rape accusa-
tion, the accuser no longer has to
prove that force was used: It's suf-
ficient for legal purposes to prove
the absence of consent and full
sexual intercourse.
The Israeli rumor mill long
has been full of gossip about
senior politicians and army
officers having affairs, but none
was ever charged with as seri-
ous a sex crime as the one of
which Katsav is accused. Israel's
first sexual harassment law was
passed following the trial of
another major political figure,
Yitzhak Mordechai, a defense
minister who was convicted of
sexually assaulting
The investiga-
and harassing two
tion continues
women during his
into those issues,
years in the army,
and no recom-
where he reached
mendation has
the rank of general.
been made
He was given an 18-
on whether to
month suspended
indict on those
sentence.
accusations.
Most recently,
Mazuz is
there have been
expected to
the high-profile
take weeks or
cases of Katsav and MoShe Kats av
even months to
Justice Minister
review the evi-
Haim Ramon. Ramon is on tem--
dence before making a decision.
porary leave as police investigate
Katsav, who was at the tail end of
charges that he kissed a young
a seven-year presidential term,
soldier against her will this sum-
repeatedly has denied the accusa-
mer.
tions against him and told Israeli
Police have recommend that
media that political foes have
Katsav be put on trial on charges
orchestrated the complaints.
If he does not resign voluntari-
of raping two women, commit-
ting indecent acts by force, inde-
ly or is not impeached by a vote
cent acts without consent and
of at least 90 Knesset members,
Katsav cannot be indicted while
sexual harassment.
Police say evidence also shows
in office. In that case, an indict-
that Katsav listened to staff mem- ment would have to wait until his
bers' telephone conversations,
term ends in nine months. '1
committed fraud and breach of
trust, harassed a witness and
obstructed the course of justice.
consignments included dozens of
Russian-made Konkurs anti-tank
missiles, one of the weapons used
by Hezbollah to great effect against
Israeli tanks and soldiers in the
recent Lebanon war.
According to Israeli estimates,
Hamas has smuggled more than
20 tons of explosives, anti-aircraft
missiles, anti-tank weapons, sniper
rifles and ammunition into Gaza
since the beginning of the year.
According to IDF officers, Hamas
hopes to create a Hezbollah-like
"balance of terror" by building
solid defensive positions and
acquiring and stockpiling longer-
range rockets. The group then
would be in a position to threaten
heavy and persistent rocket attacks
on Israeli civilians and a costly
ground operation if the IDF moved
in to stop the rocket fire.
"The Palestinians are arming
themselves to the teeth, building
a military force, defensive systems
and preparing Hezbollah-style sur-
prises': Fishman wrote.
"If Israel widens its military
activities our response will be
so strong the earth will shake':
warned Abu Obeida, a spokes-
man for Izz a-Din al-Kassam, the
llamas military wing.
The IDF has been conducting a
low-key but highly effective opera-
tion in Gaza since the kidnapping
of Cpl. Gilad Shalit in late June. In
the four months since then, more
than 300 Palestinians, most of
them fighters, have been killed.
Persistent Palestinian rocket
attacks on nearby towns and vil-
lages have not caused any Israeli
fatalities during that period, and
IDF losses in Gaza have been just
one soldier dead, killed by "friendly
fir'
Hamas militiamen in Gaza are
said to be under tremendous pres-
sure from the organization's radi-
cal, Damascus-based leadership to
inflict heavier losses.
The looming confrontation
could be averted if the funda-
mentalist Hamas and Palestinian
Authority President Mahmoud
Abbas' secular Fatah party are able
to overcome differences and set up
a national unity government. That
could pave the way for a cease-fire
and peace talks with Israel.
But Hamas' refusal to recognize
Israel or be part of a government
that does has led to deadlock.
Without such recognition, the
international community will not
lift its boycott of the Palestinian
Authority, nor will Israel be ready
to begin peace talks. Fatah has
been unwilling to form a unity
government on Hamas' terms.
To break the impasse, Abbas is
threatening to call new elections,
but Hamas warns that if he does,
there could be civil war.
Growing instability on the
Palestinian side could intensify
hostilities against Israel. Moreover,
Israeli officials are convinced that
if there is a cease-fire, Hamas will
merely use it to stockpile more
weapons. This fundamental mis-
trust of Hamas' motives also helps
make another serious round of
fighting more likely.
The United States long ago
reached the conclusion that as long
as Hamas is in power there's no
way the Israeli-Palestinian dead-
lock can be broken. According to
unconfirmed reports, Washington
already is taking action to topple
Hamas and bring Fatah to power.
Some observers think it could
exacerbate an already difficult situ-
ation and could even lead Hamas
militants to attack American tar-
gets.
October 19 • 2006
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