Investigators seized computers and documents from Israeli President Moshe Katsav's residence and will question him about allegations that he coerced a former employee into having sex with him, the police said on Tuesday.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said investigators visited Katsav's Jerusalem residence on Monday and "confiscated some computers and documents in order to continue the ongoing investigation".
He said members of the investigating team would return to Katsav's residence on Wednesday to question him directly about the case. Katsav has denied the woman's allegations and a spokeswoman said the president was co-operating fully with the investigation. "The president's office said ahead of time that it would cooperate with the investigation, with every document or piece of evidence at the disposal of the police so that the truth can be exposed," a Katsav spokeswoman said.
"The president is interested in giving his full account and to prove the falsehood of these serious leaks," she added.
The scandal was unlikely to have any significant political effects as Katsav's post is largely ceremonial. However, the allegations against Katsav and other leaders have darkened the public mood in Israel, where many were already questioning their leaders' conduct of a costly month-long war in Lebanon.
Earlier this week, Justice Minister Haim Ramon resigned after the attorney general said he would indict the veteran politician over allegations by a former government employee that he forcibly kissed her.
Israel's top government watchdog confirmed it was examining the terms of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's purchase of a Jerusalem apartment for $1.2 million in 2004. Lieutenant-General Dan Halutz, chief of staff of Israel's armed forces, has acknowledged selling off his stock portfolio just hours after Hizbollah gunmen kidnapped two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12 that triggered the Lebanon war.
Olmert's popularity has 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 Hizbollah or stop nearly 4,000 rockets from hitting northern Israel.