Q&A: Legal challenge for Sharon
Isreali PM under pressure after call for indictment
 |  Gilad and Ariel Sharon |
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 The scandal known as 'the Greek island affair'
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JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israel's chief prosecutor on Sunday officially recommended Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon be indicted for allegedly taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes when he was foreign minister.
On Monday, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that one of Sharon's sons must hand over documents related to an ongoing corruption investigation.
CNN Correspondent Paula Hancocks in Jerusalem provides some background on the legal cases.
Q. What is the background to this legal case involving Sharon?
A. The story behind this dates back to the late 1990s when Ariel Sharon was foreign minister. David Appel, an Israel businessman, paid Sharon's son Gilad about $690,000.
The allegations surrounding this case are that Sharon was going to help Appel secure a real estate deal at the time on a Greek Island.
Sharon has in the past denied any wrongdoing. Appel also denied wrongdoing back in January when he was indicted.
Q. What is the significance and the timetable of the latest development in this case?
A. The chief prosecutor has now officially recommended that Sharon be indicted. The attorney general should decide in a few weeks on whether to go ahead.
Q. How likely is it that Sharon could be indicted?
A. The attorney general has to decide if there is sufficient evidence to secure a good chance of a conviction. If there's just a slim chance, legal experts says, he is unlikely to indict Sharon.
Q. What are Sharon's options if he is indicted?
A. Well, this could be politically fatal for Sharon. But he can still request a final hearing to make his case.
If attorney general goes ahead with the case, Sharon legally does not have to resign. But opposition pressure could still force him to resign or he could choose to suspend himself from office. There is also a legal precedent of an Israeli minister resigning
If Sharon is indicted and steps down, this would put in doubt his Middle East disengagement plans from Gaza. Also, he is supposed to go to Washington on April 14 to seek approval for the plan from President George W. Bush. If he's in political limbo, this would make it difficult for Sharon to push for the plan.
Q. There is another legal development involving Sharon son, Gilan. What is behind this?
A. The Israeli Supreme Court has ordered Gilad Sharon to hand over all tapes and all documents thought to be related to this Greek island case. But there is also another case which Sharon is alleged to be involved in.
It's a case in which Sharon's son Gilad is alleged to have used $1.5 million of a loan they got from a South African businessman to repay alleged illegal contributions to Sharon election campaign.
Under Israeli law, it is illegal for any foreign funding to be used in political campaigns.
