Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said on Saturday that he will resign after a commission criticized his handling of the war in Lebanon last summer, but not now.
Aides to Peretz have said that he was going to step down after the Winograd Commission found that he did not fulfill his duty as defense minister, in part due to his inexperience in military matters.
Peretz told Channel Two TV on Saturday that he would leave his post, probably after primaries in the Labor Party he leads, at the end of the month.
"I have made my decision," Peretz said. "But I think if I decided from one day to the next to get up and flee the defense ministry, I would be doing something bad, bad for the security and the state of Israel."
The government probe of the 34-day war found that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was responsible for "very severe failures" in the conflict. Had Olmert, Peretz or then-army chief of staff Lieutenant General Dan Halutz acted differently, the outcome of the war would have been better, the commission found.
Halutz resigned in January. Peretz deflected criticism in the TV interview, saying he was relying on Halutz's recommendations.
Olmert has said he will not resign but analysts said it was only a matter of time before he was forced out of office. Three members of his Kadima Party, including Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, called on him to resign last week.
Israel launched the war on July 12 after the Lebanese militia Hezbollah attacked an Israeli border patrol and kidnapped three soldiers. At least 1,000 Lebanese and 119 Israeli soldiers were killed. Hezbollah rocket barrages on northern Israel left 39 civilians dead.
The Winograd report said Olmert hastily led the country into conflict against Hezbollah guerrillas without a comprehensive plan, exercised poor judgment and bore ultimate responsibility for a war that ended inconclusively.
About 100,000 people from across the political spectrum demonstrated on Thursday in Tel Aviv to call on Olmert and Peretz to resign.
MILESTONE: The foreign minister called the signing ‘a major step forward in US-Taiwan relations,’ while the Presidential Office said it was a symbol of the nations’ shared values US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed into law the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, which requires the US Department of State to regularly review and update guidelines governing official US interactions with Taiwan. The new law is an amendment to the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 focused on reviewing guidelines on US interactions with Taiwan. Previously, the state department was required to conduct a one-time review of its guidance governing relations with Taiwan, but under the new bill, the agency must conduct a review “not less than every five years.” It must then submit an updated report based on its findings “not later
The Presidential Office today thanked the US for enacting the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, which requires the US Department of State to regularly review and update guidelines governing official US interactions with Taiwan. The new law, signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday, is an amendment to the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 focused on reviewing guidelines on US interactions with Taiwan. Previously, the department was required to conduct a one-time review of its guidance governing relations with Taiwan, but under the new bill, the agency must conduct such a review "not less than every five years." It must then submit an updated
STAYING ALERT: China this week deployed its largest maritime show of force to date in the region, prompting concern in Taipei and Tokyo, which Beijing has brushed off Deterring conflict over Taiwan is a priority, the White House said in its National Security Strategy published yesterday, which also called on Japan and South Korea to increase their defense spending to help protect the first island chain. Taiwan is strategically positioned between Northeast and Southeast Asia, and provides direct access to the second island chain, with one-third of global shipping passing through the South China Sea, the report said. Given the implications for the US economy, along with Taiwan’s dominance in semiconductors, “deterring a conflict over Taiwan, ideally by preserving military overmatch, is a priority,” it said. However, the strategy also reiterated
CROSS-STRAIT COLLABORATION: The new KMT chairwoman expressed interest in meeting the Chinese president from the start, but she’ll have to pay to get in Beijing allegedly agreed to let Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) around the Lunar New Year holiday next year on three conditions, including that the KMT block Taiwan’s arms purchases, a source said yesterday. Cheng has expressed interest in meeting Xi since she won the KMT’s chairmanship election in October. A source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a consensus on a meeting was allegedly reached after two KMT vice chairmen visited China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Director Song Tao (宋濤) in China last month. Beijing allegedly gave the KMT three conditions it had to
RSS