Last update - 00:00 18/10/2007
Winograd Committee to publish final war report by end of year
By Yuval Yoaz, Haaretz Correspondent
The Winograd Committee investigating the Second Lebanon War will publish its conclusive report by the end of the year, the panel announced Thursday. Shortly after the panel's announcement, the military's legal defense team said it planned to appeal to the High Court of Justice over the terms of the report's publication.
Justice Eliyahu Winograd, who heads the government-appointed committee, said the decision to publish by the end of the year would impact the content and recommendations included in the final report.
Winograd made the announcement in a letter to the Movement for Quality Government, MK Zahava Gal-On (Meretz) and other officials who had requested clarification about the committee's intentions regarding its final report.
The military's legal defense team said it would appeal to the High Court over the committee's decision to publish the report without sending letters of warning to the individual parties mentioned in the findings.
The defense team accused the panel of failing in its obligation to give the individuals mentioned in the report a chance to respond to the findings against them.
In his letter of declaration, Winograd said the committee found utmost importance in the need to publish the report as quickly as possible.
"An important aspect of the committee's work - which was emphasized in its letter of appointment - is the need to finish quickly so that the report can serve as groundwork for mending the failures that were revealed in the war," wrote Winograd. "The committee has decided to make this need its top priority and aspires to publish the final report by the end of 2007."
"This decision will have ramifications on the issues and interests which will be included in the panel's report," he added.
Media reports began circling earlier this month citing panel members saying that the committee is planning to release the final report at the end of December without making personal recommendations or sending warning letters to any particular individuals.
The committee contends that if the final report only has general and systematic recommendations, and not personal ones, there is no reason to send out warning letters that would delay the release of the report.
In response to the committee's announcement on Thursday, MK Gal-On said, "It's a shame that the committee is satisfied with a report that is general and systematic. That too will be harsh and profound, but without an expulsion order, those responsible for the failures [of the war] will be able to continue serving in their positions."
The Legal Forum said it would also consider appealing the High Court of Justice to order the panel to include in its findings individual recommendations against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, as per the interim report. The forum added that expediting publication of the report should not come at the expense of its findings.
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