RAMALLAH, West Bank, 1 January 2008 — The Israeli Knesset (parliament) Foreign Affairs Committee yesterday condemned the senior Israeli forces command in unusually severe terms, saying that the army’s methods of fighting during the 2006 July war on Lebanon played into Hezbollah’s hands, and calling the Northern Command’s lack of a ready plan to attack in south Lebanon a “grievous blunder.”
The committee stated in its report that Israel’s conduct during the war was hampered by a number of factors including poor communication between military divisions, logistical mishaps, and unclear strategy.
The 150-page report examines the military and political decisions that were made from the war’s first day, July 12, through the 34 days it lasted. While the report does not levy criticism at specific military units or political figures, it issues a series of recommendations for the state to improve its conduct in a future confrontation.
While not focusing on the role of the government sector in directing the war, the report levies harsh criticism on its decisions. The policy of restraint which successive governments pursued following the 2,000 IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) withdrawal from south Lebanon “brought the army to a state of paralysis and slackness.”
Meanwhile, ahead of US President George W. Bush’s scheduled visit to the region, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has instructed government ministers that any new West Bank construction must first be authorized by him and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
In a letter addressed to Barak, Agriculture Minister Shalom Simhon and Minister of Housing and Construction Ze’ev Boim, Olmert said “Any new construction, expansion, confiscation of land, the issuing of housing tenders and all other acts related to the Israeli settlement in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) will not be advanced or carried out without authorization by the defense minister and prime minister.”
