A report from an Israeli commission of inquiry on last summer’s Lebanon war said Ehud Olmert entered the conflict unprepared. The Winograd Committee released its interim report Monday in Israel, giving a copy to the prime minister and to Defense Minister Amir Peretz an hour before holding a news conference. The report harshly criticized Olmert, Peretz and then-IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz over their actions during the first five days of the war with Hezbollah. The committee singled out Olmert for “lacking in judgment, responsibility and caution” in entering into the conflict, and being a passive leader who did not take charge of the 34-day war. Peretz was criticized for taking the defense portfolio despite being unequipped to do so, and not addressing his lack of knowledge after accepting the post. The committee said Halutz never took the threat from Hezbollah seriously enough to create a response plan.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
