Tel Aviv, April 22, SPA -- Israel's Finance Minister Avraham Hirchson announced Sunday that he would step down from his post for three months while the police investigates him on a suspected embezzlement case, his lawyer said. Hirchson is suspected of failing to report a 2003embezzlement committed under his watch when he headed a workers' union. According to the allegations, one of Hirchson's employees told him he had taken 5.6 million shekels ($1.3 million, euro1 million) to cover hisbrother's gambling loans on the black market, the Associated Press reported. Hirchson dismissed the man from his post, but allegedly did not report the incident to the police. Hirchson's lawyer, Yaakov Weinrot, said Sunday that his client would step down for three months while theproceedings against him continue. No replacement wasimmediately announced.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/443168