Attorney General Menachem Mazuz approved Thursday the fifth member of the Winograd Committee, the governmental panel of inquiry established to review the events of the recent war in Lebanon.

The fifth member of the panel, Major General (res.) Haim Nadal, was approved Thursday in place of an earlier nominee, also a retired major general, whose candidacy was disqualified due to a possible conflict of interests.

The Prime Minister's Office favored a second candidate with a military background in order to create what it called a balanced panel.

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Qualification for membership in the committee depends on three issues: whether the candidate was affiliated with any military industry receiving commissions from the Defense Ministry; whether he or she made any comments during the war indicating a particular stance on the committee's topics of inquiry; and whether the candidate was privy to consultations with the prime minister, defense minister, or IDF chief of staff.

The other panel members are retired Justice (ret.) Eliyahu Winograd, Major General (res.) Menachem Eynan, Prof. Ruth Gabizon and Prof. Yehezkel Dror.