The state prosecution on Friday announced it opposes the idea that the appointment of the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff should be postponed until the findings of the Winograd committee, investigating the failures of the war in Lebanon, are published.

The announcement came in response to High Court of Justice petitions submitted by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, the terror victims' organization "Almagor" and attorney Gil Eichbaum, requesting the appointment be delayed. The High Court will hear the petitions on Sunday.

The Winograd report is expected to be published in a month.

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According to the State Prosecutor's Office, "with all the security threats facing Israel today, it would not be right or logical that the IDF should operate for a substantial amount of time without a permanent and full time leader. In fact, delaying the appointment of the chief of staff would be extremely illogical.".

Attorney Orit Koren of the State Prosecutor's office stated in response that "there are inherent challenges in keeping on a chief of staff after he has announced his resignation. There are challenges also in appointing a temporary head."

"It is precisely the aftermath of the Lebanon war that dictates the immediacy with which the prime minister and defense minister must make the appointment," she wrote.

Earlier this week, the new chief of staff was named as Major General Gaby Ashkenazi. Ashkenazi was appointed deputy chief of staff in 2002, but stepped down when Dan Halutz, the exiting chief of staff, was appointed. Ashkenazi was not active in the IDF during the war in Lebanon.