State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss is recommending that the National Security Council be "significantly upgraded" in the Prime Minister's Office, in a report dealing specifically with the role of the advisory body in the national decision making process.

In the report made public Wednesday, the comptroller writes that the aim of bolstering the role of the NSC is to "significantly improve orderly work procedures that contribute to decision making in matters of national security."

According to the findings of the comptroller, the NSC was not involved in handling central issues of national security, such as the management of the conflict with the Palestinians, the withdrawal from Lebanon, large scale defense projects, the "Chinese crisis" over the sale of military equipment in relations with the United States, and the decision for the disengagement from the Gaza Strip.

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The following points are among the comptroller's recommendations for the NSC and its role:

* to transfer the NSC from its current offices in Ramat Hasharon to the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem;

* to establish the status of the head of the NSC in the inner circle of advisers to the prime minister;

* to incorporate the NSC as a central element of the staff work and decision making process in matters of national security, "in all of its aspects";

* to implement organizational changes in the NSC that will enable the body to carry out its functions with greater ease;

* to update the legal framework in which the NSC operates, defining its roles and authority.

In his report, the comptroller points to a gap between the need for a strong and influential advisory body that serves as counsel to the prime minister on issues of national security and the present situation. Lindenstrauss says that this need has been identified by committees and experts in the past, and is part of legislation and government decisions. However, the NSC "suffers from built-in and intentional weakening, both in the way it was set up and in the way it has been utilized by prime ministers."

The comptroller concluded that the weakness of the NSC undermines the quality of decision making at the highest national levels.

The comptroller's investigation began in August 2005, approximately at the time of the Gaza disengagement, and was completed in April 2006. During that time the prime minister changed, with Ehud Olmert taking over from the infirm Ariel Sharon. Following its completion, Ilan Mizrahi was appointed to head the NSC, instead of Giora Eiland.

The report is to a great extent a reflection of a letter Eiland sent to Sharon in August 2004, in which he warns of the problems in the work of the prime minster's advisors and the decision making process. Eiland described an environment of improvisation and lack of professionalism, void of orderly preparatory work during discussions on matters of national importance, lacking in coordination with the foreign and defense ministries, or in the option of criticizing their decisions.

"At the Prime Minister's Office, there are a number of individuals performing the same duty, and it is not clear who is responsible for what," Eiland wrote. "There is almost no official and binding position paper on any diplomatic issue," he adds.

The comptroller concludes that Eiland's criticism was completely ignored.

The situation described in the report is well known to all those who have taken interest in the work practices of prime ministers and their offices. Since its establishment in 1999, under Benjamin Netanyahu, the NSC has not succeeded in claiming a position in the inner circle of advisers of the prime minister.

According to the report, the head of the NSC is not invited to participate in discussions with the prime minister in which "other close advisers and other bodies" are involved. The NSC chief is also not a member in the committee of heads of the intelligence services, which is meant to coordinate such activities, and is also not party to discussions on "special ops."