An Israeli regime's panel
investigating the
conduct of the 2006
invasion of Lebanon
publishes a final report
Wednesday that could rock Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert's regime.
investigating the
conduct of the 2006
invasion of Lebanon
publishes a final report
Wednesday that could rock Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert's regime.
Though Olmert is unpopular in opinion polls and
has lost allies from his fractious coalition regime,
he has vowed to stay in office and repair any
faults found by the inquiry.
The regime-appointed Winograd commission's
interim findings delivered last April were highly
critical of Olmert, his regime and senior military
commanders, spurring calls for the prime minister to resign.
The commission cannot recommend that Olmert
or others should resign, but the prime minister
was widely expected to face harsh words from
the five panel members.
The war minister at the time of the war, Amir
Peretz, and armed forces chief Dan Halutz
resigned last year.
The commission, set up to investigate deficiencies
in the conduct of the war, will give Olmert a copy
of the report at 5 p.m. (1500 GMT). An unclassified
version will be released to the public after a news
conference about an hour later.
The war was triggered when Israeli occupying army
launched a wide scale attack against Lebanon at the
pretext of releasing two army troopers in July 2006.
Nearly 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and 157 Israelis,
mostly troopers, were killed in 34 days of fighting.
In its interim findings, the commission accused
Olmert of lacking "judgment, responsibility and
prudence" in his decision to go to war against Lebanon.
Olmert, who is pursuing new US-sponsored talks
with the Palestinian Authority, says he has already
acted to implement the panel's early recommendations.
Unlike the interim report, the final findings will focus
on the last days of the war when Olmert ordered a
costly ground assault even as a UN-brokered truce
was in the works.
has lost allies from his fractious coalition regime,
he has vowed to stay in office and repair any
faults found by the inquiry.
The regime-appointed Winograd commission's
interim findings delivered last April were highly
critical of Olmert, his regime and senior military
commanders, spurring calls for the prime minister to resign.
The commission cannot recommend that Olmert
or others should resign, but the prime minister
was widely expected to face harsh words from
the five panel members.
The war minister at the time of the war, Amir
Peretz, and armed forces chief Dan Halutz
resigned last year.
The commission, set up to investigate deficiencies
in the conduct of the war, will give Olmert a copy
of the report at 5 p.m. (1500 GMT). An unclassified
version will be released to the public after a news
conference about an hour later.
The war was triggered when Israeli occupying army
launched a wide scale attack against Lebanon at the
pretext of releasing two army troopers in July 2006.
Nearly 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and 157 Israelis,
mostly troopers, were killed in 34 days of fighting.
In its interim findings, the commission accused
Olmert of lacking "judgment, responsibility and
prudence" in his decision to go to war against Lebanon.
Olmert, who is pursuing new US-sponsored talks
with the Palestinian Authority, says he has already
acted to implement the panel's early recommendations.
Unlike the interim report, the final findings will focus
on the last days of the war when Olmert ordered a
costly ground assault even as a UN-brokered truce
was in the works.
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