Last update - 00:00 10/09/2006
Mofaz joins calls for state inquiry of Lebanon war
By Yuval Yoaz and Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondents and Haaretz Service
Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz of Kadima on Sunday joined those calling for a national inquiry into the misconduct of the Israeli leadership during the Lebanon war.
The minister's aides released a statement saying an independent inquiry was essential because "there is no other way to regain the public's trust in the government."
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Mofaz have been at odds ever since Olmert refused to appoint Mofaz for one of the more prestigious roles in the government after he served as defense minister.
Attorney General Menachem Mazuz approved Sunday the appointment of former Mossad man Nahum Admoni to head a panel investigating the misconduct of the political leadership during the Lebanon war.
In addition to Admoni, two legal experts may join the committee - Prof. Ruth Gabison and Prof. Yehezkel Dror.
Channel 2 reported that the committee may include three other members - Haim Erez, Hertzel Shafir and Major General (res.) Ze'ev Livneh. Two of these officials are expected to take the places of David Ivry and Yedidia Ya'ari, who have been disqualified from serving on the panel due to a possible conflict of interests.
Proceedings to determine whether Ivry and Ya'ari's participation poses a conflict of interests have yet to begin.
But these proceedings are only one of the factors holding up the completion of the committee. One of the problems lies in an ongoing dispute between members of the team and the Prime Minister's Office regarding the panel's authority.
In addition, the leadership has yet to name a party to investigate the misconduct of security officials and the army's top brass during the fighting.
In addition to the delay in appointments for the panel, the government has also held off asking the state comptroller to draw up a report on the situation on the home front during the fighting.
Also on Sunday, Army Radio reported that Olmert personally named Admoni's wife Nina in the past to three separate civil service posts.
As minister of trade, Olmert twice chose Nina Admoni for a seat on a board of directors, the radio said.
It did not specify the company or companies on whose boards she was said to have served.
It also said Olmert appointed her as an observer on a special Trade Ministry panel responsible for granting permits to foreign corporations.
In addition, the report continued, Nina Admoni serves as the representative of an American company which has commercial ties with Boeing, which supplies aircraft parts to the Israel Air Force.
Mazuz removed ex-IAF chief and former Defense Ministry director-general David Ivry from the proposed Admoni panel, because of Ivry's work as a Boeing representative in Israel.