Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Dan Halutz said officially yesterday that he has no intention of resigning following the investigation of the war in Lebanon.

Halutz acknowledged failures in the war and the fact that Israel's deterrent capability had been impaired, but claimed that part of his responsibility including leading its rehabilitation. However, Halutz also said that if the Winograd Committee demanded it, he would leave his position.

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Speaking at a press conference at his bureau in Tel Aviv following a two-day meeting with top IDF brass to summarize lessons learned from the war, Halutz surveyed at length the conclusions of dozens of investigative teams set up in the IDF. However when reporters began to ask about his personal responsibility for failures, Halutz adopted a belligerent tone, betraying signs of insult at the harsh criticism leveled at him by the media in recent months.

"I see that there are some of you who are longing for me to resign," he said, after he was asked for the third time why he does not do so. "I did not intend to tell you this today, and if you repeat the question, I won't change my answer.

Asked whether staying at his post would not harm the public's faith in the IDF, he said:

"I am not 'a star is born' and people don't vote for me by SMS...I have not heard my superiors call on me to resign. When they tell me that, I will respond to them."

The chief of staff added, "I have chosen to take responsibility. There are some who interpret responsibility as running away. I have decided to deal with the investigation and preparing a plan to repair that which needs repair."

With regard to the interim report of the Winograd Committee, expected in about two months, Halutz said, "If an official committee has an unequivocal statement, that will obligate me."

Halutz rejected contentions that senior commanders should be dismissed because of the failures of the war, and especially the strike by an Iranian missile on the Israel Navy missile boat Hanit, which left four sailors dead. "I do not remember that after the sinking of the Eilat [in 1967] the commander of the Navy was dismissed," he said.

Halutz said he had not intentionally harmed any officer serving under him, including GOC Northern Command during the war, Major Genera Udi Adam, and the commander of Division 91, Brigadier General Gal Hirsch, both of whom recently left the IDF.

Halutz conceded that he made a mistake in his late decision to call the reserve divisions to active duty, and said they should have been prepared for the possibility of an extensive land operation.

The chief of staff also conceded that the short- and mid-range Hezbollah missiles had not been disabled, but denied that the IDF had been captivated by the idea that the war could be won from the air. "Nowhere did we have that written," he said.

Halutz categorically refused several times to talk about his discussions with the government during the war.

On the second day of the officers' meeting at an air force base in the south, few officers spoke out and no one directly criticized Halutz. Two outspoken critics were the prime minister's military secretary, Major General Gadi Shamni, and the commander of the Gaza Division, Brigadier General Moshe Tamir.

During the meeting Halutz unveiled the IDF's plan for the coming year, including expanded training for the regular army and the reserves and improved training for commanders. He said he would seek changes in the law to allow reservists to be called up for longer periods.