Former "Israeli" Minister: We expected the int`l community to end the war for us

Source: Haaretz, 25-06-2007
Former Minister of Science, Culture and Sports MK Ophir Pines-Paz (Labor) told the Winograd Committee the cabinet did not discuss a diplomatic end-point for the Second Lebanon War, as it expected international pressure to force "Israel" to finish it within a few days, the Committee reported Monday.
"The leading diplomatic sources... gave us a working premise that we didn`t have much time to work with, and that we needed to act until we would be stopped - but then no one stopped us. This is what happened. Not only did no one stop us, they encouraged us, and we let this go to our heads," the former minister said.
Pines emphasized that "Israel" was dragged into a war without actually deciding to enter one.
"I learnt of the ‘Israeli' Military plans for the war from the media," he also testified.
At a certain point the cabinet came to the view that they would have to "force the world to force us [to stop the fighting]," so "Israel" needed to hit hard in order to bring international pressure upon itself, Pines said.
Pines said that on 12 July - the day Hizbullah guerillas ambushed an "Israeli" Military patrol and captured two soldiers and the ensuing war - he believed "Israel" needed to respond in order to restore its deterrence capability and to damage Hizbullah`s stock of weapons. He also thought that returning the abducted soldiers was still possible.
According to the former minister`s testimony, the cabinet was aware that Hizbullah would respond with Katyushas aimed at "Israel's" civilians.
The ministers were asked to approve a "meaningful, but limited [operation]. But absolutely not a war, and in no way a comprehensive, large-scale campaign," Pines said.