Tel Aviv - A week before publication of a final report into
Israel's month-long war with Lebanon's Hezbollah in 2006, Israeli
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Wednesday fiercely defended his management
of the crisis.
Olmert pledged to 'internalize' the report's expected criticism
and promised not to 'evade serious and profound debate' about the
war's 'failures, and especially achievements.'
But hinting he had no intention of resigning, he said he would
then 'move on.'
'It is quiet in the north of the country,' Olmert told a
high-profile conference in the coastal town of Herzliya, north of Tel
Aviv.
'There is no daily friction and there is no firing of rockets.
This has continued not for a day and not for a month, but for 18
consecutive months,' he said, arguing this proved the 33-day
offensive had restored Israel's power of 'deterrence.'
He admitted that Hezbollah had since the war enlarged its weapons
and rockets arsenal.
But he argued, the question was not how many rockets Hezbollah
had, but rather 'what its willingness is to use these weapons.'
'The facts speak for themselves,' he added.
The situation along Israel's northern border had improved
significantly since the war, he said, and 'the fact which cannot be
argued with is that Hezbollah is no longer deployed along the
border.'
Following intense pressure, Olmert appointed a government
commission of inquiry headed by retired judge Eliyahu Winograd
shortly after an August 2006 ceasefire ended the 33 days of combat
with the Lebanese Shiite militant movement.
Publication of the commission's interim findings last April
sparked widespread calls on him to resign. The commission is
due to publish its final conclusions Wednesday next week.
© 2008 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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