Last update - 00:00 23/01/2007
MK Shalom: Almog report shows IDF lacked basic facts before war
By Gideon Alon, Haaretz Correspondent
MK Silvan Shalom (Likud) said on Tuesday that the inquiry into the abduction of Israel Defense Forces soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser has revealed that the chief of staff was unaware of basic facts prior to the war.
Shalom said that following the kidnapping of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit less than a month before the start of the war, the IDF had made no efforts to prevent additional abductions.
Major General (Res.) Doron Almog, who headed the inquiry into the abduction of Regev and Goldwasser by Hezbollah, presented the inquiry's findings Monday to the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
In his report, first published in November, Almog unveiled a series of failures at all levels of command during the war. In addition, the report highlighted the IDF's failure to apply lessons learned from the killing and abduction of three IDF soldiers on the Lebanese border in October 2000.
Committee member MK Ran Cohen (Meretz) said in response to the report that the inquiry reflected failures at all levels of command, including the General Staff.
"If only one of the levels had done its job, the abductions would never have taken place," Cohen said, adding that Shalit's abduction on June 25 had not sounded any alarm bells within the Northern Command.
"Since it has become clear that the onus of responsibility for the kidnapping lies on Israel, it is up to Israel to pay the ultimate price for the return of the soldiers," Cohen added.
MK Yossi Beilin (Meretz) said that "the problem was not the actions of the soldiers but the erroneous military and operational outlook."
Almog's report reflects a significant gap between division's written regulations and orders, and the way they were implemented by troops operating along the border.
According to Almog, the Galilee Division had an operational plan for dealing with the threat that Hezbollah would capture soldiers. However, according to the report, the plan was not implemented due to the disconnect between the upper command and the field level commanders.