The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports the Jerusalem District Prosecutor’s Office has begun formulating an indictment against Israeli President Moshe Katsav. Israeli police said they have uncovered enough evidence to charge the president with rape, sexual harassment, fraud and wiretapping. Katsav’s attorney said today that the president would resign when and if he were charged with a crime. Knesset member Limor Livnat criticized Katsav for staying in power this long.

• Limor Livnat: “President Katsav should have suspended himself right at the beginning when the police had started to investigate him; unfortunately, he did not suspend himself, today he took the right decision but president Katsav should suspend himself now and I have to say the whole thing is very sad both to president Katsav but also for all of us.”

Israeli News analyst Zeev Segal said the country has never faced such a situation.

• Zeev Segal: “This is unprecedented, not indictment, but unprecedented allegations against a senior public officer, we do not remember anything like it especially to sexual offenses so tough as rape, it was never known to the Israeli public, or society”.