TEL AVIV — Israel’s official commission of inquiry into the Lebanon war released a scorching review of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s performance during the monthlong battle against Hezbollah, but exonerated him for ordering a disastrous drive to snuff out rocket fire during the war’s closing 60 hours.
The Winograd Commission’s conclusion that the decision to order a final major ground offensive — a much-maligned move that left 33 soldiers dead — in 2006 was “reasonable” and “almost vital” silenced critics who charged the prime minister used the operation for his own political interests even though diplomats were closing in on a cease-fire.
Mr. Olmert, for most of his tenure, has been dogged by calls to resign over his handling of the war, but the acquittal may give him enough momentum to ride out the final political uproar over the botched war and refocus on peace negotiations with the Palestinians.
While bereaved families and army reservists have pledged to stir up public protest, the major test for Mr. Olmert lies in parliament and with his coalition partners. The focus of politicians will now shift to Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who said months ago that the prime minister should resign after the final report is issued. Mr. Barak, whose Labor party is Mr. Olmert’s chief coalition partner, isn’t expected to make an announcement in the coming hours. Many observers, however, say both he and the Labor party won’t withdraw from the government now because they wouldn’t win a quick election.
The opposition Likud party, which has been pushing for early elections, is also likely to exploit the report.
“The entire report casts heavy personal responsibility for the failure in the war — which the … reports says wasn’t a success,” said Limor Livnat, a Likud lawmaker. “What else needs to happen for the prime minister to accept responsibility and go home?”
Though the panel, headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Eliyahu Winograd, repeatedly declared the prime minister’s performance a “failure,” none of the criticism went beyond the harsh conclusions contained in a preliminary report eight months ago.
Mr. Olmert appointed the commission in the weeks after the war in response to public anger over the gap between the prime minister’s initial promise to expel Hezbollah from southern Lebanon and the inconclusive results of the fighting.
The panel revisited the conclusion of its interim report in April that pointed to “serious failures” of judgment by Mr. Olmert, former Defense Minister Amir Peretz and military chief of staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz.
After inconclusive clashes with its neighbors in the 1973 Yom Kippur War and the 1982 Lebanon war, Israel appointed state investigation committees. In both cases public outrage with the war prompted prime ministers to step down.
In addition to Israel’s political leaders, some of the commission’s most damning criticism focuses on the army.
“A semi-military organization of a few thousand men resisted, for a few weeks, the strongest army in the Middle East, which enjoyed full air superiority and size and technology advantages,” the report said.
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