Police question Sharon on bribes

Mr Sharon denies any wrongdoing

Israeli police have questioned Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for the second time over a corruption scandal.

A businessman, David Appel, was charged last month with trying to bribe the prime minister.

Officers interviewed Mr Sharon at his official residence in Jerusalem for over two hours, but gave no details.

Before the meeting, police sources said Mr Sharon, who denies any wrongdoing, would be questioned about the so-called "Greek Island affair".

Opponents of Mr Sharon have accused him of seeking to divert attention from the case by announcing a plan to evacuate Jewish settlers from Gaza.

The depth of the inquiry is the depth of the evacuation Zvi Hendel pro-settlement deputy minister in Israeli cabinet Q&A: Corruption probes

Police have been examining claims that the prime minister, members of his family and his deputy, Ehud Olmert, accepted money from Mr Appel in return for favours.

Among a series of allegations, prosecutors have said that Mr Appel hired Mr Sharon's son, Gilad, in 1999, and paid him large sums to persuade his father to promote property deals in Israel and Greece.

Mr Sharon was last interviewed by police officers about the issues in October, but this is the first time he has been questioned since Mr Appel was charged with attempting to bribe him.

The BBC's Matt Prodger in Jerusalem said officers had been expected to ask him about taped conversations he had had with the businessman.

Gaza 'link'

There has been speculation in the Israeli media that the scandal could prompt the eventual resignation of the prime minister.

But Mr Sharon, who leads the right-wing Likud party, has rejected calls for him to step down, vowing to stay in office at least until the next election in 2007.

That has led to many politicians and analysts linking the scandal with Mr Sharon's plan to evacuate Jewish settlers from Gaza.

On Wednesday, the prime minister indicated the plan might be put to the Israeli people in a referendum.

Mr Sharon was quoted by the website of the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth as saying that the Gaza plan was presented not "because of, but despite" the corruption investigation. But others have voiced scepticism.

"The depth of the inquiry is the depth of the evacuation," said Zvi Hendel, a pro-settlement deputy minister in Mr Sharon's cabinet who is a resident of Gaza.