Occupied Jerusalem: Israel's Lebanon war commission levelled scathing criticism against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in an interim report on Monday that cast doubt on the unpopular leader's political future.
Olmert, the panel's chairman said at a news conference, launched the air, sea and land campaign last July against Hezbollah guerrillas without a well thought-out plan and showed "a severe failure in judgment, responsibility and caution".
His declared aims in going to war - to free two Israeli soldiers seized by Hezbollah and crush the militant group - were "overly ambitious and impossible to achieve", chairman Eliyahu Winograd said.
The report, which also sharply criticised Defense Minister Amir Peretz, did not call for Olmert or Peretz to resign.
But the findings seemed likely to stir public sentiment against Olmert, a veteran politician, who opinion polls show is widely unpopular.
Olmert, after receiving a copy of the panel's findings, said that "failures will be remedied."
Olmert already faced strident calls for his resignation from coalition partners as well as opponents, and the harsh report further weakened his hold on power.
A copy of the report obtained by news agencies cited a "severe failure in the lack of judgment, responsibility and caution."
Noting Olmert's lack of a military pedigree, Winograd said the prime minister went to war "without a second thought" and failed to consult with experts outside the Israeli armed forces.
"We will definitely study your material ... and ensure that in any future threat scenario against Israel, the difficulties and faults you cited will be corrected," Olmert said in broadcast remarks as he received a copy of the findings.
Olmert has said the 34-day conflict improved Israel's security by banishing Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah from its frontier strongholds and boosting a UN peacekeeper force in southern Lebanon.
Aides said before the interim findings were released that Olmert had no intention of stepping down and would fight for his political survival. The full report is to be released in a couple of months.
Olmert's approval ratings plunged to single digits after the inconclusive war and a US-initiated dialogue
between the veteran politician and moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has shown few results.
Hezbollah fired 4,000 rockets into Israel during the fighting, forcing a million residents into shelters in a blow to the Middle East's mightiest military. Israel sent warplanes to bomb in southern Beirut neighborhoods, Hezbollah strongholds.
A rally calling for Olmert and his government to quit was planned for Thursday in Tel Aviv. The demonstration was being organised by a former general, military reservists who fought in the war and parents of soldiers killed in the conflict.
In the Lebanon war, 158 Israelis died, including 117 soldiers and 41 civilians. About 1,200 people were killed
in Lebanon, including an estimated 270 Hezbollah gunmen.
