The state prosecution on Wednesday told the High Court of Justice that the government has given great consideration to the question of whether to establish a state commission of inquiry to investigate the war in Lebanon, and believes that the High Court has a limited input in this deliberation.

The High Court last week ordered the government to explain why the government-appointed Winograd commission of inquiry should not be disbanded and a state commission of inquiry established in its place.

The government said in response that while, in theory, the High Court has the jurisdiction to order the government to establish a state commission of inquiry, "it is doubtful that we will ever get to such an extreme situation in which such an order would have to be given."

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"Criticism and supervision of the government on political matters such as these are mainly in the hands of the Knesset, and they are even subject to public law."

The High Court had asked the state to focus its response on the problematic nature of a government appointing the committee charged with investigating its actions, as well as all echelons of the political and defense establishments involved in the war.

In its response, the government said, "the difference between the method of appointing members of an examination committee and the method in which a state commission of inquiry is appointed certainly does not justify High Court intervention."

"Often times one must examine an event or a subject or an entire field, with more than one instrument of examinations. In this situation, the choice between the relevant instruments of examination requires the consideration of the appointing body," it added.

The state also said that government law allows it to appoint a commission of inquiry to examine "matters of national significance, with regard to the general functioning of the arms of the government and the defense establishment," adding "one can't conclude from the language or the purpose of the government law that it does not allow the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into matters such as the conduct of the political and defense echelons during the war."