Defense Minister Amir Peretz has tried to head off his increasing critics by appointing a committee to carry out an internal probe into the way the war was managed. He named his close advisor, ex-MK and former Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. (ret.) Amnon Lipkin-Shachak, to head the committee. However, opposition MKS, the Movement for Quality in Government, and others have said that such a committee is not sufficient, and that a public commission of inquiry is necessary.
In Jerusalem, the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee declared a majority vote on Monday, 11 – 3 in favor of setting up a commission of inquiry into the war in Lebanon. Only the members of Olmert’s Kadima party were opposed.
Kadima member and Committee Chairman Tzachi HaNegbi decided not to formally announce the decision as the Committee's position, however. Some members later said that he had "found a technicality" in explaining that the issue had not been formally on the agenda today. Kadima Knesset members Shneller and Breznitz agreed with HaNegbi.
As he left the debate, Meretz Knesset member Ran Cohen commented that a national committee of inquiry would be the only one that could investigate the truth.
A state commission of inquiry is the most powerful and authoritative type of investigatory body that exists in the State of Israel, with powers and procedures completely restricted to those set by law. The commission is empowered with the right to subpoena witnesses and documents, and would make its findings public, with the exception of classified military information.
Such a commission is led only by a sitting or retired Supreme Court justice and its members are selected by the president of the Supreme Court.
Attorney General Menachem Mazuz said today that the final decision as to what type of committee should investigate the government's functioning during the war must be made by the government itself.
At the same time, State Comptroller Judge Emeritus Micha Lindenstrauss announced today that he would begin a large-scale investigation of his own. His office staffers will, in the coming days, begin collecting documents, protocols and information relating to the functioning of the various government bodies in the past weeks.
“The heads of five authorities in the Comptroller’s Office - the security brigade (including the IDF), the local authorities, and those involved in inspecting government offices - will conduct professional inspections into the way the war was carried out, including the home front” and the care given to the northern residents, he said.
Amid the calls for an inquiry and even resignation from leaders of every party except his own Kadima faction, Olmert faced more censure from citizens during a tour of the north.
Leaders of Kiryat Shmonah’s municipality Monday told the prime minister that they have lost faith in him. Councilmen Yigal Buzaglo and Michel Ben Shimon even stated their own desire to see a government inquiry into the events of the war in Lebanon.
“I would like to ask you, Mr. Prime Minister,” asked Council members during Olmert’s visit to the war torn town which had absorbed more than 1,000 rockets slamming into its homes, businesses, schools and streets. “Where were you? Why didn’t you care about us?”
Many people were forced to remain in the town when the Olmert government dragged its feet in responding to official pleas for assistance in evacuating those residents who could not afford or were otherwise unable to temporarily relocate on their own.
Olmert side-stepped the comments and questions, saying "I would rather focus on the future than on the past."
In Jerusalem, the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee declared a majority vote on Monday, 11 – 3 in favor of setting up a commission of inquiry into the war in Lebanon. Only the members of Olmert’s Kadima party were opposed.
Kadima member and Committee Chairman Tzachi HaNegbi decided not to formally announce the decision as the Committee's position, however. Some members later said that he had "found a technicality" in explaining that the issue had not been formally on the agenda today. Kadima Knesset members Shneller and Breznitz agreed with HaNegbi.
As he left the debate, Meretz Knesset member Ran Cohen commented that a national committee of inquiry would be the only one that could investigate the truth.
A state commission of inquiry is the most powerful and authoritative type of investigatory body that exists in the State of Israel, with powers and procedures completely restricted to those set by law. The commission is empowered with the right to subpoena witnesses and documents, and would make its findings public, with the exception of classified military information.
Such a commission is led only by a sitting or retired Supreme Court justice and its members are selected by the president of the Supreme Court.
Attorney General Menachem Mazuz said today that the final decision as to what type of committee should investigate the government's functioning during the war must be made by the government itself.
At the same time, State Comptroller Judge Emeritus Micha Lindenstrauss announced today that he would begin a large-scale investigation of his own. His office staffers will, in the coming days, begin collecting documents, protocols and information relating to the functioning of the various government bodies in the past weeks.
“The heads of five authorities in the Comptroller’s Office - the security brigade (including the IDF), the local authorities, and those involved in inspecting government offices - will conduct professional inspections into the way the war was carried out, including the home front” and the care given to the northern residents, he said.
Amid the calls for an inquiry and even resignation from leaders of every party except his own Kadima faction, Olmert faced more censure from citizens during a tour of the north.
Leaders of Kiryat Shmonah’s municipality Monday told the prime minister that they have lost faith in him. Councilmen Yigal Buzaglo and Michel Ben Shimon even stated their own desire to see a government inquiry into the events of the war in Lebanon.
“I would like to ask you, Mr. Prime Minister,” asked Council members during Olmert’s visit to the war torn town which had absorbed more than 1,000 rockets slamming into its homes, businesses, schools and streets. “Where were you? Why didn’t you care about us?”
Many people were forced to remain in the town when the Olmert government dragged its feet in responding to official pleas for assistance in evacuating those residents who could not afford or were otherwise unable to temporarily relocate on their own.
Olmert side-stepped the comments and questions, saying "I would rather focus on the future than on the past."