Scandals rock Israel after the war

Welcome to Israel, after the war.

With a ceasefire in Israel's bitter battles with Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas in effect for nearly a week, Israeli media have turned the spotlight on a series of scandals.

No criminal charges have been filed in any of the cases. But suspicions of sleaze at the top have darkened the public mood in Israel, where many have begun to question their leaders' conduct of a costly month-long conflict in Lebanon.

Some of the allegations:

-- A former employee at the official residence of President Moshe Katsav says he coerced her into having sex with him. Katsav has denied the woman's allegations, which police are investigating. The scandal is unlikely to have any significant political impact as Katsav's post is largely ceremonial.

-- Justice Minister Haim Ramon announced on Friday he would resign after the attorney general said he was considering indicting the veteran politician over allegations by a former government employee that he forcibly kissed her.

A Justice Ministry statement said the woman accused Ramon of "kissing her on the lips while inserting his tongue without her consent." Ramon denied the charges and said he would prove his innocence in court.

-- Israel's top government watchdog has confirmed it is examining the terms of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's purchase of a Jerusalem apartment for $1.2 million in 2004.

The state comptroller's office said it has not finished looking into the case. The prime minister's office has reserved comment, pending an official approach on the matter by the comptroller.

Olmert's popularity has already taken a beating in the polls, part of a public backlash over his handling of a war in Lebanon that failed to deal a fatal blow to Hezbollah or stop nearly 4,000 rockets from hitting northern Israel.