KashifAsrar
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ââ¬ËLebanon war pre-plannedââ¬â¢
Olmert Says Soldiersââ¬â¢ Capture Only Pulled Trigger: Report
Jerusalem: Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert has testified he launched last yearââ¬â¢s war against Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon in line with a contingency plan he approved four months before, the Haaretz daily said on Thursday.
Olmert, under fire for his handling of the inconclusive 34-day war, told a judicial inquiry last month that Hezbollahââ¬â¢s capture of two Israeli soldiers on July 12 triggered the plans for a large-scale attack in Lebanon, the Israeli newspaper said.
The inquiry, known as the Winograd Commission, is expected to publish an interim report this month. Haaretz did not say how it had learned the details of Olmertââ¬â¢s February 1 testimony. Many Israelis view Olmertââ¬â¢s decision to go to war as a knee-jerk reaction by a leader with little security experience, unlike his predecessor, former general Ariel Sharon.
In testimony apparently aimed at dismissing any notion he acted recklessly, Olmert told the commission he asked army commanders in March 2006 if a contingency plan for military action existed in the event soldiers were abducted along the Lebanon frontier, Haaretz said.
Presented with options, Olmert chose what the newspaper described as a ââ¬Åmoderate planââ¬Â that included air strikes accompanied by a limited ground operation. Opposition Likud party lawmaker Yuval Steinitz, who was chairman of parliamentââ¬â¢s Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee until mid-May 2006, said the Haaretz report had astounded him. ââ¬ÅNone of this ever happened,ââ¬Â he told Israel Radio. ââ¬ÅThere was no intensive preparation for a possible imminent war.ââ¬Â
He said Olmert had cut half a billion shekels ($118 million) from the defence budget two months before the conflict, which was not the action of someone who ââ¬Åbelieves that in the next few months they will react to the next provocation with a warââ¬Â.
Olmert and defence minister Amir Peretz have seen their popularity slump since the war, in which 158 Israelis, including 117 soldiers and 41 civilians, were killed and thousands of rockets were fired into the country. About 1,200 people were killed in Lebanon, including an estimated 270 Hezbollah guerrillas. REUTERS
Olmert Says Soldiersââ¬â¢ Capture Only Pulled Trigger: Report
Jerusalem: Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert has testified he launched last yearââ¬â¢s war against Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon in line with a contingency plan he approved four months before, the Haaretz daily said on Thursday.
Olmert, under fire for his handling of the inconclusive 34-day war, told a judicial inquiry last month that Hezbollahââ¬â¢s capture of two Israeli soldiers on July 12 triggered the plans for a large-scale attack in Lebanon, the Israeli newspaper said.
The inquiry, known as the Winograd Commission, is expected to publish an interim report this month. Haaretz did not say how it had learned the details of Olmertââ¬â¢s February 1 testimony. Many Israelis view Olmertââ¬â¢s decision to go to war as a knee-jerk reaction by a leader with little security experience, unlike his predecessor, former general Ariel Sharon.
In testimony apparently aimed at dismissing any notion he acted recklessly, Olmert told the commission he asked army commanders in March 2006 if a contingency plan for military action existed in the event soldiers were abducted along the Lebanon frontier, Haaretz said.
Presented with options, Olmert chose what the newspaper described as a ââ¬Åmoderate planââ¬Â that included air strikes accompanied by a limited ground operation. Opposition Likud party lawmaker Yuval Steinitz, who was chairman of parliamentââ¬â¢s Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee until mid-May 2006, said the Haaretz report had astounded him. ââ¬ÅNone of this ever happened,ââ¬Â he told Israel Radio. ââ¬ÅThere was no intensive preparation for a possible imminent war.ââ¬Â
He said Olmert had cut half a billion shekels ($118 million) from the defence budget two months before the conflict, which was not the action of someone who ââ¬Åbelieves that in the next few months they will react to the next provocation with a warââ¬Â.
Olmert and defence minister Amir Peretz have seen their popularity slump since the war, in which 158 Israelis, including 117 soldiers and 41 civilians, were killed and thousands of rockets were fired into the country. About 1,200 people were killed in Lebanon, including an estimated 270 Hezbollah guerrillas. REUTERS
