Court lets Winograd omit personal findings from final report - Haaretz

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Wed., November 28, 2007 Kislev 18, 5768

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Last update - 03:13 28/11/2007

Court lets Winograd omit personal findings from final report

By Yuval Yoaz and Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz Correspondents

Tags: Israel, Second Lebanon War

The Winograd Committee does not have to include comments about individuals in its final report on the government's handling of the Second Lebanon War, nor does it have to send warning letters to those who may be harmed by its conclusions, the High Court of Justice ruled Tuesday.

In their ruling, Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch and justices Hanan Meltzer and Edna Arbel rejected two petitions. The Movement for Quality Government had demanded the committee issue personal conclusions, while the Military Advocate General had sought the warning letters.

However, the justices criticized the committee for changing its initial scope, which they said raised "many questions and doubts."

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"Looking at it in its entirety," Beinisch wrote, "the committee has changed its stance.

Its announcement that it does not intend to include personal findings in its final report raises questions, especially considering its stance on the interim findings and previous High Court hearings."

However, there was "no need for the court to intervene," the panel wrote. "The court will not replace the committee and will not have its judgment overrule that of the committee," it stated.

The Winograd Committee, commissioned by the government to investigate its handling of last year's war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, is expected to submit its final report in December or early January. The report probably would have been delayed had the court decided to intervene in its decision not to release personal findings or issue warning letters.

The petitioners voiced their discontent with the court's ruling, but stressed that it included much criticism of the committee's conduct.

"It is important to emphasize that the High Court criticized the decision of the committee not to include personal findings; that its [conduct] has been questionable, considering its stance on the interim findings, and given that personal findings are very important in fixing failures," the Movement for Quality Government said.

According to the Sunday Times of London, the final findings will include criticism of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's decision-making process during the war particularly in the last 60 hours before a cease-fire came into effect when the Israel Defense Forces launched a large-scale ground invasion of southern Lebanon. Some 33 IDF troops were killed during the last-minute offensive and an Israel Air Force helicopter was shot down by Hezbollah militants.

The Winograd Committee declined to comment on the Times's report

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