OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 7 February 2004 — Israeli police believe there is not enough evidence to indict Prime Minister Ariel Sharon over a bribery scandal while the state attorney’s office has the opposite view, sources close to the inquiry said yesterday.

The final decision will be taken by Attorney General Menachem Mazuz, who should pronounce on the case within the next three months.

Mazuz is reported to hold the opinion that Sharon cannot be toppled on the basis of shaky evidence.

The daily Yediot Aharonot quoted a senior legal source as saying, “The prime minister still has reason to worry since his responses did not clear him of suspicion.”

“Police believe there is not enough evidence against Sharon,” read the headline of the daily Maariv.

Police investigators grilled the Israeli premier at his official residence on Thursday for two and a half hours.

Police sources said Sharon did not exercise his right to silence but answered the questions of his interrogators.

Sharon was last interrogated in October, but Thursday’s session came after the indictment last month of property developer David Appel on charges of trying to bribe Sharon when he was foreign minister.

According to the indictment against him, Appel sought in 1998 to get Sharon to intervene on his behalf with the Greek authorities to facilitate a tourism development deal on an Aegean island.

The project never materialized, but the business developer reportedly offered $3 million to Sharon’s son Gilad as an “adviser” when the latter has no tourism expertise.

Gilad never pocketed that amount but he allegedly received $100,000 in salary in addition to $590,000 that went to Sharon’s ranch in the sourthern Israeli Negev desert.

Boost to Popularity

Sharon’s slumping popularity won a boost this week after the hawkish premier announced his intention to dismantle Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, according to an opinion poll published yesterday.

The poll in the daily newspaper Maariv showed that 39 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with Sharon’s handling of current affairs, up from 33 percent a week ago. In contrast, 50 percent expressed their dissatifaction with Sharon’s performance, and 11 percent did not have an opinion.