JERUSALEM, 30 March 2004 — The Supreme Court yesterday ordered Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s son to hand over documents crucial to investigating corruption scandals that could topple the Israeli leader and sideline his Gaza withdrawal plan.
The decision came a day after Israel’s attorney general received a recommendation from the chief prosecutor to try Sharon on charges of taking bribes from a businessman pursuing a Greek island development scheme that ultimately flopped.
Sharon has denied wrongdoing. But the legal storm has damaged him in opinion polls and could hinder his plan to unilaterally withdraw Jewish settlers from Gaza and a few from the West Bank to break a peacemaking deadlock with Palestinians.
“I am dealing well with the problem. I am managing fine,” Sharon said, while outlining his plan to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee after the court ruling.
