Israeli police chief quits after scandal

JERUSALEM, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Israeli Police Chief Moshe Karadi resigned on Sunday after a government inquiry recommended he steps down in a scandal that linked his department to the underworld.

The resignation follows several scandals that have increased public criticism of Israeli leaders, including probes of suspected corruption involving Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and allegations of rape against President Moshe Katsav.

The government-appointed commission said Karadi should quit over his failure to ensure that police thoroughly investigated a 1999 murder of a suspected crime lord by a uniformed policeman with criminal ties.

Karadi, who was a department head at the time, had later promoted another officer suspected of trying to cover up the case, it added.

The rogue officer fled the country and was killed in Mexico in 2004. His murder case in Israel was closed due to lack of evidence.

Karadi rejected the charges as unfounded but said he would step down to avoid a "witch hunt" against the police.

"This is a difficult hour for me. This is a very difficult hour for the organisation that I lead," Karadi told reporters in Jerusalem, adding that he was aware that Israel's police were "in need of a reform to lead them forward."

Israeli Public Security Minister Avi Dichter announced that Prisons Service Commissioner Yaakov Ganot was appointed as the new police chief. The government has yet to set a date for when he takes office.