JERUSALEM - Israel's defense minister appointed a former army chief of staff on Wednesday to investigate the military's handling of the 34-day war in Lebanon as public criticism intensified that the offensive was poorly planned, unsuccessful and not worth its cost in human lives.
The formation of the committee fell well short of meeting demands for an independent, in-depth probe of both the government and the military, and analysts said it marked only the beginning of what promised to be a lengthy string of investigations.
Meanwhile, Israel's current army chief, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, came under deep pressure to resign because of revelations he found time to call his broker and sell off his stocks to avoid wartime losses hours before launching Israel's largest military operation since 1982.
The war against Hezbollah was widely seen here as a just response to a July 12 cross-border attack, during which the guerrilla group killed three soldiers and captured two. But Israel's wartime solidarity quickly crumbled after Israel agreed to pull its army out of south Lebanon without crushing Hezbollah or rescuing the captured soldiers.
A total of 118 soldiers were killed in the fighting and 39 Israeli civilians were slain by the 3,970 Hezbollah rockets that hit Israel. At least 842 Lebanese were killed in the fighting.
With Israelis banding together during the war, approval ratings soared for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz, men with little military experience who took office just two months before the fighting started. Polls Wednesday showed a collapse in their popularity as Israelis began criticizing the conduct of the war.
Support for Olmert fell from 78 percent during the fighting to 40 percent in a poll of 500 people.
published by TNS-Teleseker. Peretz's approval rating plunged from 61 percent to 28 percent, according to the poll, which had a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.
“I think determination was missing. If the prime minister and the defense minister decided to go to war, we should have done it with full force,” said Jacob Kiyam, a 33-year-old chemical engineer who fought in Lebanon as part of the reserves. “For the first two weeks we used only the air force, and it was a little bit naive to think we could do it only like that.”
Other reservists sent to Lebanon complained they lacked essential equipment and said the army was disorganized and often gave them conflicting and confusing orders.
Residents of northern Israel criticized the poor maintenance of bomb shelters and the failure of the government to get them the right help swiftly during rocket attacks. Media reports said the war cost the Israeli economy $3 billion in damages and lost revenue, though the government said it was too early to assess the full damage.
Dovish opposition leaders criticized the government's decision to stage a last minute push deeper into Lebanon, an offensive which killed 33 soldiers before a U.N. cease-fire deal took effect Monday. The government said the push was needed to maximize war gains.
Hawkish politicians said Israel should have moved deeper and faster into Lebanon and continued to fight until the army destroyed Hezbollah and freed the captured soldiers.
A poll Wednesday by the Dahaf Research Institute showed 70 percent of Israelis opposed a cease-fire that did not bring the soldiers back, and 69 percent backed an official inquiry into the war's prosecution. The poll had a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.
With pressure for an independent commission of inquiry growing, Peretz on Wednesday appointed former army chief Amnon Lipkin-Shahak to head a committee looking into whether the army was prepared for the war and examining its conduct during the fighting.
The committee, made up of retired generals and a top business executive, is to present its preliminary finding to Peretz within three weeks, the Defense Ministry said.
Critics said the investigation did not meet their demands.
“This is an internal committee and even if the intentions are good, this is not a substitute for an objective commission of inquiry,” said Yossi Beilin, head of the dovish Meretz Party, adding that the committee's focus only on the military was too narrow.
Former Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, of the opposition Likud Party, said the public would have no confidence in a committee that reports to the defense minister.
“Whatever its conclusion may be, that the army performed as it should, that the defense minister acted in an exemplary fashion, if it comes from a committee like this it will not have credibility with the public,” he told Israeli Television.
Halutz also faced heat for his wartime decisions. But much of the criticism Wednesday focused on his stock transactions, which were called insensitive and arrogant.
Halutz has acknowledged selling about $28,000 worth of stocks at noon on July 12, three hours after the Hezbollah raid that touched off the war.
Politicians and military commanders called for Halutz' resignation.
“This is something that makes you wonder if there is some very problematic chemistry with this person. How, in the middle of everything, could you suddenly think about your bank account? It doesn't make sense to me,” dovish politician Ran Cohen, who is a reserve colonel in the paratroopers, told Israel's Channel 10 TV.
Halutz expressed no regret over the sale, saying he has finances to manage like any other Israeli. “They've turned me into Shylock,” he told the Yediot Ahronot daily, referring to Shakespeare's despised Jewish “Merchant of Venice.”
AP-ES-08-16-06 1632EDT
Meanwhile, Israel's current army chief, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, came under deep pressure to resign because of revelations he found time to call his broker and sell off his stocks to avoid wartime losses hours before launching Israel's largest military operation since 1982.
The war against Hezbollah was widely seen here as a just response to a July 12 cross-border attack, during which the guerrilla group killed three soldiers and captured two. But Israel's wartime solidarity quickly crumbled after Israel agreed to pull its army out of south Lebanon without crushing Hezbollah or rescuing the captured soldiers.
A total of 118 soldiers were killed in the fighting and 39 Israeli civilians were slain by the 3,970 Hezbollah rockets that hit Israel. At least 842 Lebanese were killed in the fighting.
With Israelis banding together during the war, approval ratings soared for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz, men with little military experience who took office just two months before the fighting started. Polls Wednesday showed a collapse in their popularity as Israelis began criticizing the conduct of the war.
Support for Olmert fell from 78 percent during the fighting to 40 percent in a poll of 500 people.
published by TNS-Teleseker. Peretz's approval rating plunged from 61 percent to 28 percent, according to the poll, which had a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.
“I think determination was missing. If the prime minister and the defense minister decided to go to war, we should have done it with full force,” said Jacob Kiyam, a 33-year-old chemical engineer who fought in Lebanon as part of the reserves. “For the first two weeks we used only the air force, and it was a little bit naive to think we could do it only like that.”
Other reservists sent to Lebanon complained they lacked essential equipment and said the army was disorganized and often gave them conflicting and confusing orders.
Residents of northern Israel criticized the poor maintenance of bomb shelters and the failure of the government to get them the right help swiftly during rocket attacks. Media reports said the war cost the Israeli economy $3 billion in damages and lost revenue, though the government said it was too early to assess the full damage.
Dovish opposition leaders criticized the government's decision to stage a last minute push deeper into Lebanon, an offensive which killed 33 soldiers before a U.N. cease-fire deal took effect Monday. The government said the push was needed to maximize war gains.
Hawkish politicians said Israel should have moved deeper and faster into Lebanon and continued to fight until the army destroyed Hezbollah and freed the captured soldiers.
A poll Wednesday by the Dahaf Research Institute showed 70 percent of Israelis opposed a cease-fire that did not bring the soldiers back, and 69 percent backed an official inquiry into the war's prosecution. The poll had a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.
With pressure for an independent commission of inquiry growing, Peretz on Wednesday appointed former army chief Amnon Lipkin-Shahak to head a committee looking into whether the army was prepared for the war and examining its conduct during the fighting.
The committee, made up of retired generals and a top business executive, is to present its preliminary finding to Peretz within three weeks, the Defense Ministry said.
Critics said the investigation did not meet their demands.
“This is an internal committee and even if the intentions are good, this is not a substitute for an objective commission of inquiry,” said Yossi Beilin, head of the dovish Meretz Party, adding that the committee's focus only on the military was too narrow.
Former Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, of the opposition Likud Party, said the public would have no confidence in a committee that reports to the defense minister.
“Whatever its conclusion may be, that the army performed as it should, that the defense minister acted in an exemplary fashion, if it comes from a committee like this it will not have credibility with the public,” he told Israeli Television.
Halutz also faced heat for his wartime decisions. But much of the criticism Wednesday focused on his stock transactions, which were called insensitive and arrogant.
Halutz has acknowledged selling about $28,000 worth of stocks at noon on July 12, three hours after the Hezbollah raid that touched off the war.
Politicians and military commanders called for Halutz' resignation.
“This is something that makes you wonder if there is some very problematic chemistry with this person. How, in the middle of everything, could you suddenly think about your bank account? It doesn't make sense to me,” dovish politician Ran Cohen, who is a reserve colonel in the paratroopers, told Israel's Channel 10 TV.
Halutz expressed no regret over the sale, saying he has finances to manage like any other Israeli. “They've turned me into Shylock,” he told the Yediot Ahronot daily, referring to Shakespeare's despised Jewish “Merchant of Venice.”
AP-ES-08-16-06 1632EDT
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