TEL AVIV, March 29: The Supreme Court on Monday 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 (parliament) foreign affairs and defence committee after the court ruling, according to panel members.

But a confidant of the 76-year-old premier said a Gaza timetable was not yet set and "this whole thing might be delayed" by the legal imbroglio. "He is consulting with advisers trying to form a new strategy, to create a new image."

Some cabinet ministers said Sharon should quit if Attorney General Menachem Mazuz decides to indict him. Others said Sharon should suspend himself from office. Mazuz's decision is expected within two months, justice sources say.

Micha Fettma, lawyer for Sharon's son Gilad, said he would comply with the high court decision that followed months of lower court battles over the documents in the Greek case and another involving accusations of illegal campaign funding.

Prosecutors contended the son was in control of key papers but Fettma disputed this. He said Gilad Sharon's legal team would talk to "every third party that might have a document".

Sharon hopes to win President George W. Bush's approval for his "Disengagement Plan" at a pivotal US meeting on April 14. But the Sharon confidant suggested the scandal could weaken his status with Washington, Israel's closest ally.-Reuters