JERUSALEM -- Furiously proclaiming his innocence in the face of a string of expected sexual-assault charges, Israeli President Moshe Katsav asked yesterday to be suspended from his position, but defiantly refused calls from across the political spectrum for him to resign immediately.

In a news conference that marked the most sensational moment in a six-month-long drama that has dispirited even a country that has grown used to a cloud of controversy over its leadership, Mr. Katsav strenuously denied the allegations, which involve four women. He said he is a victim of conspiracy, and said he will resign only if he is formally indicted.

"I announce here that there is no proof, there is no evidence, of the allegations against me," he said during an angry, finger-waving performance broadcast on live television.

"When the truth comes out, citizens of Israel, you will be shocked," Mr. Katsav said as his wife, Gila, looked on, her face flush with emotion. "I am the target of one of the worst attacks in the history of the state of Israel."

Mr. Katsav's position is largely ceremonial, with few executive powers. However, the President frequently represents Israel abroad, and Mr. Katsav's portrait hangs in schools across the country.

On Tuesday, Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz announced he intends to charge the President with raping one former employee and sexually harassing three others who worked for him, as well as other counts of abuse of power and obstruction of justice. If convicted of all the expected charges, Mr. Katsav could be sentenced to more than 20 years in prison.

However, a final decision on the indictments will not be rendered until after a special hearing with Mr. Katsav and his defence team, which could take several weeks.

In a letter delivered yesterday to the Knesset, Israel's parliament, Mr. Katsav asked that he be suspended from his duties for three months in light of Mr. Mazuz's announcement. But during his televised remarks he said he will not resign outright because that would be "giving in to blackmail."

As long as he remains in the presidency, the 61-year-old Mr. Katsav enjoys immunity from prosecution. His seven-year term expires in July.

It seemed unlikely last night that the Knesset committee that must approve his request will support the idea of a short-term suspension. Yesterday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert added his voice to those calling for Mr. Katsav to step down.

"Under these circumstances, there is no question in my heart that the President cannot continue to fulfill his role, and he will have to leave the residence of the president of Israel," he said at the beginning of a speech to the Herzliya Conference, a prestigious policy forum. Opinion polls have suggested that almost 90 per cent of Israelis think Mr. Katsav should resign immediately.

During the hour-long television diatribe that was his first full response to the allegations, Mr. Katsav accused police and the news media of collaborating against him, calling it "McCarthyism." Mr. Katsav, who is a Sephardic Jew of Iranian descent, hinted strongly that he is being targeted because he is not from the ranks of the country's traditional elites, the Ashkenazi Jews of European descent.

Without naming the women involved, he took a swipe at the credibility of their accusations, saying three are linked to "a party." He said the woman who accused him of rape tried to blackmail him after he fired her as unqualified.

Should Mr. Katsav be suspended or impeached, Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik would assume the presidency on an interim basis, making her the first woman to hold the post.

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