Army Radio reported Sunday that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who has tapped former Mossad chief Nahum Admoni to head an inquiry panel into the government's handling of the war, 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.

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Attorney-General Menachem 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.

Olmert to wait to seek okay for panel
Olmert had been expected to submit the Admoni panel for cabinet approval on Sunday, but has decided to postpone the step.

Sources in Jerusalem have suggested three causes for the delay in submitting the new panel for approval. The first was Mazuz' decision last week to disqualify two panel candidates due to possible conflicts of interest.

Olmert has appointed two additional candidates to replace Yedidya Ya'ari and Ivry, but the investigation into a possible conflict of interests on the part of the new nominees has not yet been completed.

The second reason is the ongoing dispute between members of the Admoni panel and the Prime Minister's Office over the panel's range of authority. Admoni wants the panel to be able to grant immunity to individuals who would testify before it, so that their testimony would not be admissible in court. This kind of power can only be awarded by the Knesset and not the prime minister.

The third factor is the collapse of the committee appointed by Defense Minister Amir Peretz, to be headed by former IDF chief of staff Amnon Lipkin Shahak, that was intended to look into the functioning of the defense establishment during the month-long war. To date, a replacement commission has not yet been appointed, and Olmert is still deliberating on its composition.

As a result of the delay, the inquiry into the actions of local and regional officials during the war, to be carried out by the State Comptroller's Office, will also be postponed. Olmert hopes to bring all the panels before the cabinet for simultaneous approval.

On Sunday, Supreme Court justices will discuss the petition submitted by Ometz, a non-profit watchdog organization, demanding the formation of a state commission of inquiry into war failures.

The State Prosecution issued an official response, saying that Omets's petition was submitted prematurely. Once the cabinet officially approves some form of inquiry, if it is not in accordance with Omets's demands, they will have to re-submit the current petition in order for their demands to be considered.

Mass rally for state inquiry
Tens of thousands gathered Saturday night in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv to support a call for a state investigation into the war.

Protest leader and chairman of the Movement for Quality Government in Israel Attorney Eliad Shraga said at the rally "we have gathered here in all colors of the political spectrum, from all socio-economic levels, and holding a wide range of beliefs, in order to demand the formation of an independent commission of inquiry, a professional, objective and unbiased commission."

"The corruption that brought about the collapse of departments within the government during peace-time, is the same corruption that brought about the complete paralysis of the government during the war," he said.