Israeli President Moshe Katsav faced mounting pressure Monday to quit after police recommended he be charged with rape in a sex scandal tarnishing a public office Israelis cherish as being above their rough-and-tumble politics.

Katsav decided to skip the opening ceremony of the winter session of parliament Monday, the president's brother said.

Katsav's brother, Lior, said the president would stay home to protect the dignity of the Knesset, or parliament. In his largely symbolic post, Katsav is responsible for presiding over such ceremonies.

"We have no doubt of his innocence," Lior Katsav told Army Radio. "We know he is being framed and he is being blamed of things that did not happen."

Police on Sunday recommended that Katsav be indicted for rape, aggravated sexual assault and other counts, wrapping up a months-long investigation into complaints by women who worked for him. Attorney-General Meni Mazuz must make the final decision on whether to indict.

Although Mazuz's decision is likely weeks away, calls on Katsav to suspend himself or resign are growing. Several lawmakers, including all members of the liberal Meretz Party, had threatened to boycott Monday's parliamentary ceremony if Katsav attended.

While Israel has a long history of political scandals, the charges that Katsav may face would be the most serious criminal counts ever brought against a serving official. In the past, a previous president and several prime ministers were suspected of financial misdeeds, and a former defence minister as convicted of sexual harassment.

In a statement released on Sunday, police said the recommendations were based on complaints filed by "women who worked under his (Katsav's) authority."

It said there was evidence he committed crimes of "rape, aggravated sexual assault, indecent acts without permission and offences under the law to prevent sexual harassment."

Police also said the found the basis for charges of fraud and malfeasance, as well as illegal wiretapping. Investigations that Katsav disrupted a police investigation and harassed a witness are still in progress.

Katsav has denied any wrongdoing, saying he is the victim of a conspiracy.

His lawyer, Zion Amir, issued a statement on Sunday saying that police are not authorized to bring charges. It noted that in the past, when police have recommended putting senior officials on trial, the attorney-general has dismissed most of the cases.

The scandal has marred the two-decade career of a politician with an image of being dull but squeaky-clean. Katsav, a longtime backbencher in the Likud Party, was elected to the presidency by parliament in a shocking upset over Nobel laureate and elder statesman Shimon Peres.

Although the position is largely ceremonial, the president is expected to set moral standards and help unify the country during times of trouble. During the recent war against Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, Katsav visited areas hit by rocket fire, rushing for shelter in a building during one barrage.

Katsav has said he has no intention of stepping down before the end of his seven-year term next year. However, if indicted he would likely have to step aside.

Katsav, 60, was born in Iran, and is the first president to come from among the Jews who immigrated from Muslim countries and who suffered discrimination at the hands of the European Jewish establishment in the first years of the state.

His ascension to the presidency was seen as a sign that those once dismissed as marginal had joined Israel's elite.

(China Daily October 17, 2006)