The number of female senior officers in the Israel Defense Forces has decreased by 40 percent in the past two years, the Knesset women's lobby said Tuesday.

Only 15 women held a rank of colonel or higher in 2006, compared to 24 in 2005.

The Knesset's Committee for the Advancement of the Status of Women met Tuesday with IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz in the wake of his decision to merge the two highest IDF posts held by women - Chief of General Staff's Advisor on Women's Affairs and Head Personnel Manager.

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Following uproar over his decision to merge the posts, Halutz announced he would again separate the two posts, but estimated that it could take approximately a year for the change to go into effect.

Members of the Knesset women's lobby said they were confused as to why it should take a year to implement the change when he succeeded succeeded in carrying out a complete round of reappointments within the general staff in the two months since the end of the war in Lebanon.

Halutz also announced that he has formed a committee charged with tracking the implementation of the IDF's policy of instating women in various military posts.

"These days, female soldiers serve in all military vocations, in the Air Force and the Navy, in the Artillery Forces and all the other units. I know of no place that is off limits to women," he said.