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Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (file)
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| By israelinsider staff March 28, 2007 |
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Prime Minister Olmert's office slammed the High Court Wednesday over its ruling that the Winograd Commission testimonies will be made public, saying in a statement that the release of the information would cause "severe harm to the vital interests of the state."
The statement charged that the release of the information would compromise the security of the state, could have a negative effect on Israel's foreign relations and would deter people from giving full and truthful testimonies to commissions in the future, knowing that it could be made public.
"Our position is that the publication of the testimonies should be avoided at this time, since such a publication seriously damages vital national interests," the statement said.
"This publication could deter others from testifying openly and freely before investigation commissions. Consequently, the ability of these commissions to realize their original purpose of identifying and fixing deficiencies will be damaged," the statement continued.
The High Court approved the release of the testimonies, stating that they must first be checked by intelligence specialists who would screen them for sensitive information.
Olmert's office stated, however, that this would not be enough, and that the release of the information would bring further harm.
"This is a real and present concern...over damage to the security of the state, its foreign relations and its relations with various individuals and groups that were involved, and continue to be involved, in managing the state's security issues," the statement said
The statement also refuted recent media reports that the Prime Minister's Office disapproved of how the Winograd Committee conducted its investigation, saying that the reported criticism did not originate "from office personnel, and definitely does not reflect in any shape or way the opinion or stance of the prime minister."
"A chutzpah as well as a scandal"
Meretz MK Zehava Gal-On, who first petitioned the High Court to make the Winograd testimonies public, called the Prime Minister's Office's statement "chutzpah and a scandal."
"We need to recall that the first one who leaked his testimony tendentiously and piecemeal to Ha'aretz and Ma'ariv was the prime minister, who wanted to create a public display to serve his own interests," Gal-On said in an Army Radio interview.
She continued, alluding that Olmert was trying to suppress his testimony in an effort to dupe the public: "When the prime minister appointed a government inquiry committee, he said its authority would be like that of a state inquiry commission. Based on this, all of the testimonies must be published, and the discussions need to be public and open," she stated. |
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