Last update - 00:00 05/03/2007
Comptroller: No findings against individuals in war probe summary
The summary of the state comptroller's interim report on the management of the Home Front during the second Lebanon war, which will be presented Tuesday to the Knesset State Control Committee, will not include conclusions regarding individual officials, the State Comptroller's Office said Monday.
Following a meeting with State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss, State Control Committee Chairman Zevulun Orlev (National Religious Party-National Union) said Monday that "during the committee hearing, there will be no report that includes personal conclusions."
"Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will not be mentioned during the hearing, nor will any specific ministry, nor specific government, but rather the collective responsibility of the governments," Orlev added. "No specific local authority will be mentioned, but rather the [report will refer to] the authorities in the north. Even the [Israel Defense Forces] Home Front Command will not be mentioned, but rather the criticism will be directed at the IDF."
Orlev said that the findings regarding individual officials and specific government agencies will be included in the final version of the report, which will be presented in several months, after those being criticized have a chance to respond.
The High Court of Justice will hear a petition Tuesday morning against a Knesset debate on State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss' probe, which is set to begin at 9 A.M. - two hours after the start of the court hearing.
The petitionors, GOC Home Front Command Major General Yitzhak Gershon, claims that the Knesset debate should not take place until those criticized in the findings have had a chance to respond.
Lindenstrauss and Orlev are both named in the petition, which was submitted by chief military defense attorney Colonel Orna David and Gershon's attorney, Eldad Yaniv.
"An illegal act harms the basic rights of those criticized, the rule of law, public faith in the institution of the state comptroller and his determinations," the petition states.
Gershon and several other senior officers who may be affected by the report argue that they have not been given the right of reply, and that publishing the interim report without providing those under scrutiny with the entire draft report runs contrary to common practice as well as violating the law regulating the state comptroller.
In addition, the petitioners say that Lindenstrauss failed to submit the report's major findings to military censorship to ensure that their publication does not compromise national security.
At the start of Tuesday's committee hearing, Lindenstrauss will read the 6-7 page summary of his interim report, which he will present to Orlev. The report is expected to include harsh criticism of the IDF, government ministries, local authorities and other agencies regarding the level of Home Front preparedness for the war.
On Monday, the state comptroller handed over the full 600-page interim report to the various agencies and officials being criticized.
According to Orlev, it is important to conduct the hearing in order to "receive from the comptroller a report on his activities regarding the probe into the preparedness of the Home Front and its handling during the war in the north."
"During the hearing, there will be a report on the actions that will include general recommendations for correcting the situation, so that it will be possible to begin implementing them immediately and begin to properly prepare the Home Front," he said. "We asked for the report to also include general recommendations that can start to be implemented in order to draw lessons and correct shortcomings immediately."
Orlev criticized the High Court petition, saying "I ask myself if the IDF filed the petition with the defense minister's approval? Is there a minister who is hiding? Are there partisan interests? The comptroller informed me of all the meetings he had with the Home Front Command and on which he will report to the committee. The Knesset State Control Committee can rest assured, the Home Front Command had infinite opportunities to present their version to the probe."
Meretz faction whip Zahava Gal-On said "this is unprecedented audacity on the part of a prime minister who decided in less than an hour to go to war and now needs more than two months to give explanations on the failed preparedness of the Home Front. This is an additional attempt of the prime minister to avoid giving explanations and de-legitimize the institution of the state comptroller."
Kadima MK Amira Dotan, who is a member of the State Control Committee, wrote Orlev a letter asking him to adopt Knesset Legal Adviser Nurit Elstein's opinion that the committee should not hold a meeting Tuesday to deliberate the findings.
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