Ilan Mizrahi, head of the National Security Council, will step down in November after turning in his resignation to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Itamar Ya'ar, his deputy and the head of the policy branch of the NSC, will also step down at the end of the year.

Mizrahi's departure comes after a report released by the Shahak Committee, established to help implement the recommendations of the Winograd Committee's investigation into the management of the Second Lebanon War. The Shahak panel called to strengthen the NSC and turn it into a leading player among the government's security staff.