The release of the Winograd report on the performance of decision-makers in the Second Lebanon War might be delayed another year following Thursday's decision by the High Court of Justice to appoint a three-judge panel to review a petition submitted by the military defense attorney's office, legal sources have told Haaretz.

The petition calls for the court to order the committee to hold hearings for soldiers and officers who are liable to be harmed by the committee's findings.

The court will begin reviewing the petition in the second half of September. If the court accepts the army's arguments, it would mean a delay of several months to a whole year past the report's current October deadline.

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The delay in the report's release would be inevitable, legal sources said, because the Israel Defense Forces are asking the courts to allow officers to review the evidence concerning their performance, cross-examine witnesses and submit their own concluding statements. The sources described these procedures as time-consuming.

Channel 10 reported Wednesday night that two of the committee's members are considering quitting the panel should the court decide to allow hearings for officers. The members were quoted as saying that they could not spend another year on the report.

To bypass the need for granting hearings, the committee could opt to omit all references to individual officers. Officials whose performances might be criticized by the committee would likely favor the move. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, for example, is believed to welcome a toned-down version of the report, as well as the possibility of a postponement.

Those who oppose pushing back the publication of the report warn that a belated release would serve to dampen the report's conclusions against the relevant parties and procedures responsible for omissions and failures that surfaced during the war with Hezbollah last summer.

The petition, which was filed after an extensive back-and-forth between the army's chief defense attorney and Judge (ret.) Eliyahu Winograd, the chairman of the committee, is meant to ensure that officers get a chance to defend themselves before the final committee report is released.

Initially, the panel charged with investigating the handling of the war claimed it had already transferred sufficient evidence and testimony gathered in its hearings to Olmert's office and the IDF chief of staff.

The committee also told Olmert's attorney, Eli Zohar, that panel members are willing to examine specific requests the prime minister may have regarding pieces of evidence that are not at his disposal. Olmert specifically asked to see censored material that he claims he has not received.

The committee, which began its work last September, also includes jurist Ruth Gavison, political science professor Yehezkel Dror, Major-General (res.) Menachem Einan and Major-General (res.) Chaim Nadel.