Winograd Committee's final report on Second Lebanon War faces more delays
Report release could be delayed a year due to High Court decision to appoint panel to review military petition.
By Amos HarelThe 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.
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.
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Members of the Winograd Committee, which is to report on the performance of decision-makers in the Second Lebanon War. (Eyal Warshavsky / BauBau) |
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Just publish the report and stop the politicians and military doing everything they can to delay, ad nauseum, having to face the consequences of their actions or inaction. Prevarication is the tool of the morally weak, the incompetent, the corrupt and those who fear the truth.
The tactics are clear. Delay the final report until nobody will be interested anymore in it, because it has turned stale. Nobody seems to be really interested to make tabula rasa after last years debacle. Those that were affected most, are not really considered and the others do not really care. For them already today it is "old hat". A very convenient constellation for Olmart and his crew.
The approach by the army legal section to protect their personnel from possible negative evaluation of their 2nd Lebanese war action is humanly by less legally understandable. - The Olmert cabinet made its binding decision in the 2nd Lebanese war and thus all its members participate in the collective responsibility of this and similar decision under this circumstances. - Those who claim they voted half heartedly for or even against became collectively responsible. Their only way / option they could have taken such difficult situation to get up resign and are no longer under the collective cabinet responsibility. The final report of the Winograd Commission should be published as soon as possible. Here the public interest is superceding possible personal rights.
But, the end result will be for Olmert to sink us into more sh-t.
People say there are two government in Lebanon.
why not hire the committee which made the report to pa on gaza-offensive? they are quick & no-nonsense. it is incredible the wino-isra is not able to complete its reporting & allowing olmert-gang going on destroying israel
preferably to foreign journal so that its publication cant be stopped ! the gang of quisling losers must be ejected before any more damage is done to israel !
It is extremely simple, Olmert get the hell out ! You are RUINING the country, Lawyers have no place in the army. You failed RESIGN instead of bringing the country and the army into the mud. GO back to your family , you weak omelet
Why don't we end this farce? Just destroy the report. Save Olmert and his gang and get on with giving away our country to keep them in power.
Isn't the Israeli "High" Court just as low as anybody really can sink/go/fall/stumble? The 'politicalisation' of this bunch of white washers is a direct threat against the state.
It seems that those who are directly responsible for the failures of the 2nd Leb War, are now seeking to dismantle the Winograd Committee, even before all the truth comes to light.