The much-awaited report by the State Comptroller's Office on civilian preparedness during last summer’s Second Lebanon War was released at 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, and contains sharp criticism of Prime Minister Olmert. Olmert has already dismissed the findings as "superficial," "tilted," "headline-grabbing," and "based on the the Comptroller's personal opinions."
The commission, led by State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss, examined the state of affairs on the Home Front during the war. In accordance with predictions, strong criticism is leveled against Prime Minister Olmert and his cabinet, the Home Front Command and various local authorities. The report thrice uses the Hebrew phrase likuy meorot, which literally means "eclipse" or "darkening of the lights," in referring to the government's condition when it made war-related home front decisions.
The Lindenstrauss report blames Olmert, ex-Defense Minister Amir Peretz, ex-Chief of Staff Dan Halutz, and Home Front Commander Gen. Yitzchak Gershon for having "gravely failed in dealing with the Home Front during the Second Lebanon War." The police were praised for their performance.
It took the government 18 days of warfare before it conducted a debate on the Home Front situation, the report states. It condemns officials for failing to correctly assess the extent to which Hizbullah would attack civilians during the war, and also slams the government for failing to prepare bomb shelters to be used for extended periods of time.
The lack of a distribution system for food and medicine during the war was also severely criticized, as was the government’s decision to shut down offices and public transportation in cities that were under attack.
Report Draws Fire From the Prime Minister
Raanan Dinur, the Director of the Prime Minister's Bureau, told reporters, "The Prime Minister knew the condition of the shelters and knew that Hizbullah would fire rockets at the Home Front. But the considerations were, what would be endangered if we take action as opposed to what would be endangered if we don't take action and leave Israel vulnerable to this threat."
The Prime Minister and his aides began criticizing the report even before its publication, noting that the government took office only a few months before the war began. Olmert's staffer said the government has worked hard to prepare the country for conflict and that previous governments are responsible for last summer's failures. Olmert said that Home Front preparedness has been “the top priority” for over a year.
The report was extensively reviewed by government and IDF officials, particularly Home Front Commander Gershon, who expressed concern that the report would be damaging to IDF officers.
Gershon’s lawyers and Lindenstrauss’s aides met several times for long discussions about some of the items listed in the report. As a result, parts of the original draft were eventually changed.
Gershon himself has considered quitting several times since the war, but was told by IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi that he should remain in his position.