JERUSALEM: Lawyers for Israeli President Moshe Katsav met the attorney-general on Wednesday to make a last-ditch appeal to him to drop rape proceedings against the head of state, officials said.

Mr Katsav took leave of absence after Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz announced in January that he had evidence that could warrant charging the president with raping an ex-aide and assaulting three other women who had worked for him.

A justice ministry spokesman said the attorney-general had held a special hearing with Mr Katsav’s lawyers on Wednesday ahead of a final decision on the case. One of the lawyers said before the hearing that they would present new evidence that could dispel police allegations against the president.

“We hope that Mazuz will listen with an open mind and accept our arguments, despite all of the media frenzy that preceded the hearing,” Attorney Avi Lavi told the Maariv newspaper.—Reuters