"Extremely severe" report over rocket strikes during war Olmert refuses interview!

Source: Compiled by Moqawama.org, 05-3-2007
JERUSALEM (AL-QUDS) - "Israeli" Prime Minister Ehud Olmert asked parliament on Sunday to delay the release of a key report expected to criticize inadequate protection for "Israeli" settlers under rocket fire during last year`s war in Lebanon.
Olmert`s approval ratings have plummeted since the inconclusive month-long war that was widely criticized for "Israel`s" failure to crush Hizbullah guerillas in Lebanon.
Under a hail of public criticism, Olmert has named a panel of judges to investigate these complaints about the military.
State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss has launched a separate probe into complaints the "Israeli" home front was unprepared to face the onslaught of rockets fired by Hizbullah during the fighting.
The stinging report on the government`s handling of the Hizbullah rocket barrage of northern "Israel" during last summer`s war in Lebanon is due next week, "Israeli" public radio reported on Saturday. Lindenstrauss will submit an "extremely severe" report to a parliamentary committee on Tuesday after a lengthy investigation into the government`s handling of the north`s rocket-battered residents both before and during the 34-day war, the radio reported.
Parliament has scheduled a committee hearing to air these findings on Tuesday.
Amid reports the government would face criticism for inadequate bomb shelters and warning systems to settlers, Olmert accused Lindenstrauss of "sowing panic" among "Israelis", in a letter whose contents were published by his office.
In the letter to the parliament speaker`s bureau, Olmert also accused the comptroller`s office of leaking "false reports" ahead of the report and of failing to solicit a government response before publishing its findings.
"I see no room" for plans to release it at a parliament committee meeting on Tuesday, Olmert wrote.
The "Israeli" military has also asked to see a draft of the report before publication, a military spokesman said.
Olmert was apparently sent a written questionnaire after he refused to show up in person at Lindenstrauss' office to answer questions about the home front's performance during the war. Now, however, the comptroller intends to publish the report before the prime minister has gotten a chance to send in his responses.
Sources in the Prime Minister's Office called it "scandalous" that Lindenstrauss would dare publish the report without Olmert's reactions.
Response
"The prime minister continues with his attempts to distract the public from his duty to provide accurate and clear answers to the many questions that have been addressed to him in recent months," the state comptroller`s office said in response to Olmert`s letter.
In a statement, the comptroller`s office accused Olmert of treating the comptroller with disrespect, and of making unfounded claims and allegations.
"The state comptroller will appear before the Knesset State Control Committee and will make his statements there," it concluded.
The controversy over the comptroller`s report has set the stage for a tougher fight Olmert may face when the judicial panel submits preliminary findings expected in a matter of weeks, into charges of military failings during the war.
"Israeli" officials have been forced to resign in the wake of investigations into past military campaigns.
"Israel" was also slammed abroad for the devastating use of its firepower in Lebanon, where more than 1,200 people - mostly civilians - were killed, and thousands of homes and infrastructure targets were hit during the month-long war of summer of 2006
During war last July and August, the resistance group fired more than 4,000 rockets at northern "Israel", forcing "Israelis" to spend a month in underground bomb shelters and flee south. 157 "Israelis" mostly soldiers were killed.