Last update - 01:43 17/12/2006
Military officers: War probes will force Halutz to resign
By Amos Harel
Chief of Staff Lieut. Gen. Dan Halutz is likely to approve most of the conclusions of the inquiry headed by Maj. Gen. Doron Almog into Hezbollah's abduction last July of soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. Military officials said yesterday that Halutz is leaning toward not accepting the appeal by Brig. Gen. Gal Hirsch, commander of Division 91 at the time of the kidnapping, against Almog's recommendation that he be banned from command positions. Senior officials also told Haaretz that, when all the investigations are completed, Halutz himself will be left with no alternative to early retirement.
Halutz and Almog met Friday for the third time since the initial submission of Almog's report, on November 12. The latter softened some of his judgments on the performance of senior levels of the military in the period prior to July 12. On Friday, it was agreed that Halutz will issue an announcement to the press this week on the subject.
Halutz is also expected to announce his decision shortly regarding Hirsch, who resigned his post about two weeks ago in protest of Almog's harsh judgments against him. Prior to that, Halutz held a hearing, in which Hirsch argued against Almog's conclusions about him in the presence of several senior officers. It now appears that Halutz is unlikely to change the report's recommendation concerning Hirsch.
The presentations to the General Staff forum of the investigations into the second Lebanon war are slated to be completed by the end of the month. In early January, the main findings and conclusions will be presented to Israel Defense Forces officers at the rank of colonel and above. The top brass are waiting anxiously for Halutz's decision regarding his own military future in light of the harsh conclusions of the inquiries (some of which the chief of staff rejects). Halutz is likely to decide to step down when the conclusions of the internal IDF inquiries are submitted. Another possibility is that he will consider his options only after the interim report of the Winograd Committee is submitted, presumably in February.
Several senior General Staff officers told Haaretz recently, after taking part in the summing-up investigations, that they believe Halutz will have no choice but to retire early. "In light of the extent of the failures that came to light, it's the right thing to do," they said. "Halutz no longer has the commanders' trust. If he truly wants the army to be rehabilitated, he must go."