Sharon may be asked to step down

JERUSALEM -- Israel's state attorney recommended Sunday that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon be indicted for bribe-taking, officials said, in what is seen as a major, but not final, step toward his possible resignation.\nSuch an unprecedented indictment of an Israeli prime minister could derail Sharon's proposal to withdraw from much of the Gaza Strip -- or entice him to move more quickly on the "disengagement" plan, which has broad support in Israel.\nSharon is meeting with President Bush in two weeks to try to win U.S. backing for a Gaza withdrawal.\nIn Gaza, the new Hamas leader branded Bush "the enemy of God, the enemy of Islam," but stopped short of threatening to attack U.S. targets in retaliation for last week's assassination by Israel of the Islamic militant group's founder.\nIsraeli opposition leaders demanded Sharon step aside while under the cloud of indictment, but the prime minister's aides said he planned to conduct business as usual. In the event of an indictment, there would be considerable pressure on Sharon to suspend himself or resign. The prime minister has been plagued by corruption allegations since he was elected in 2001.\nA resignation could trigger early elections, but Sharon's most likely successor, former Premier Benjamin Netanyahu, is not considered a supporter of Sharon's proposals to pull out of Gaza and parts of the West Bank, areas captured in the 1967 war.\nSunday's recommendation by State Attorney Edna Arbel to indict Sharon is not the last word on the matter. The final decision is up to Attorney General Meni Mazuz, who is expected to make a ruling within a month. However, Arbel's opinion carries considerable weight and puts pressure on Mazuz, appointed by the government a few months ago, to concur.