Top lawyer studies Sharon case

Sharon says he will serve out his term

Israel's attorney general has received a recommendation in the case of alleged corruption involving Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, officials say.

Justice ministry sources have told the BBC that chief prosecutor Edna Arbel's recommendation is to charge Mr Sharon.

The unspecified charges relate to a case in which a businessman is accused of paying Mr Sharon's family to help promote a tourism project in Greece.

Both the businessman and Mr Sharon have denied any wrongdoing.

The case has sparked fresh calls for the prime minister to go.

"Under such circumstances, the prime minister should resign," Infrastructure Minister Yosef Paritzky said earlier.

Members of the opposition Labour and Yahad parties have made similar calls.

Balance of evidence

State Attorney Edna Arbel had concluded there were sufficient grounds to charge Mr Sharon.

Attorney General Menachem Mazuz will now assess the evidence presented to him - as well as the recommendations of the head of the police investigations division, Major General Moshe Mizrahi.

A decision could take up to two months.

The businessman, David Appel, employed Mr Sharon's son, Gilad, as a consultant in a deal involving a Greek resort in 1999.

Appel has been indicted for allegedly offering bribes

Gilad had no previous experience in the tourism industry.

Israeli media have speculated that Mr Appel may have hoped to win Greek approval for the deal through the Sharon family. Mr Sharon was foreign minister at the time.

Mr Appel has already been charged with offering bribes.

The "Greek island affair" is open to different interpretations, Israeli media have said, even though Ms Arbel was said to have felt that on balance an indictment should be presented.

Mr Sharon has said he intends to serve the rest of his term until 2007, despite the allegations against him.

He is facing a separate probe into possible infringement of election finance regulations in 1999 and 2000.

Fight from home

"I would expect him to say today that he is ready to go home and fight from there to prove his innocence," Mr Paritzky told Israel radio.

In the end, the attorney general won't be able to ignore the state attorney's opinion Ofir Pines-Paz Opposition MP

The minister belongs to the centrist Shinui party - a junior partner in Mr Sharon's government.

Ofir Pines-Paz, a parliamentarian from the opposition Labour Party told Israel Army Radio that the prime minister had to "suspend himself until the attorney general's final decision is made".

"In the end, the attorney general won't be able to ignore the state attorney's opinion," the MP said.

Yahad leader Yossi Beilin also urged Mr Sharon to step down.