“All the rumors about my eventual resignation or about a voluntary suspension of my functions are just foolishness,” Sharon said

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, January 22 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The majority of Israelis find Prime Minister Ariel Sharon guilty in the latest bribe scandal, also involving his son and deputy, and believe he should step down if so proven.

David Appel, a key behind-the-scene figure in the right-wing Likud party, was indicted by Tel Aviv Magistrates court Wednesday, January 21, for giving Sharon, his son Gilad and deputy premier Ehud Olmert hundreds of thousands of dollars to promote a huge tourism project.

A poll published Thursday, January 22, in the Israeli daily Maariv shows that 53 percent of respondents see Sharon guilty and 63 percent say he should resign if indicted.

Another survey by Haaretz and the Dialogue polling agency, indicates that 68 percent of those polled do not believe Sharon's claim that he knew nothing, heard nothing and saw nothing about the bribery affairs.

It also finds that 64 percent of the Israeli public say Sharon should quit if he is proven guilty.

Among voters in Sharon's Likud party, 56 percent have lost faith in him while in Shinui, a crucial and so far loyal partner in Sharon's ruling coalition, 77 percent of the voters do not believe him, according to the Haaretz poll.

The survey also find that the premier’s credibility, which was his winning ace in the elections, is sorely damaged.

A survey in the mass circulation Yediot Aharonot shows even harsher results with 49 percent saying Sharon needs to either resign or suspend himself from office regardless of the inquiry's findings.

Enough Indictment

Haaretz revealed that acting attorney general Edna Arbel believed there were enough evidence to indict Sharon for having received bribes from Appel although the next attorney general will make the final decision.

The center-left paper said that police criminal investigations department commander Moshe Mizrahi shared Arbel's view and hoped to interrogate Sharon within days.

The final decision will be made when new material the police and prosecution have in the case is examined and after another interrogation of Sharon, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

However, Sharon put up defiance, saying he would not resign – an idea which he dismissed as foolish.

“I will continue to be prime minister next year, all the rumors about my eventual resignation or about a voluntary suspension of my functions are just foolishness,” he was quoted as saying after Appel’s indictment.

 If indicted, Sharon could be forced to step down before his mandate ends in 2007, which would be the second time in less 20 years of his political career.

Sharon was forced to resign as defense minister in 1983 after an Israeli tribunal found him indirectly responsible for the Sabra and Shatila massacre in Lebanon one year earlier.

Sharon went off the hook last year when Belgium scrapped its universal competence law that would have been used to indict him for war crimes against Palestinian civilians in the Sabra and Shatila refugees camps.