Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed police on Sunday for leaking a decision to recommend that criminal charges be brought against his foreign minister, Ariel Sharon. Netanyahu was quoted as saying during the weekly Cabinet meeting that the disclosure, coming in the midst of the election campaign, was politically motivated. Police are probing allegations that in 1997 Sharon promised favors to an associate in exchange for altering his testimony in a libel suit that Sharon had brought against an Israeli newspaper. Sharon, who denies any wrongdoing, has called on the state prosecutor to make a decision before the May 17 election on whether to serve an indictment.
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