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Defense Minister Peretz: he and Olmert will determine if and when the action takes place. (AP file photo)
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners August 9, 2006 |
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The fine print of Wednesday's cabinet decision is that Olmert and Peretz are not obliged to act to widen the offensive. The cabinet authorized the Prime Minister and Defense Minister The two are exclusive charged with setting the timing of the operation.
Indeed, the offensive would not begin for two or three days so as not interfere with ongoing efforts to broker a cease-fire at the United Nations, said one minister in the meeting, Haaretz reported.
Nine of the 12 ministers in the cabinet voted in favor of the move, while the other three abstained. No minister voted against the decision.
Labor Party Ministers Shimon Peres and Ophir Pines-Paz, who abstained, said diplomatic channels must be exhausted before the war is expanded. Shas's Industry and Trade Minister Eli Yishai also abstained, saying the ground operation should not be expanded until air strikes have run their course.
The Cabinet meeting lasted more than 6 hours and was characterized by Israeli media as "stormy." There were harsh words between Shaul Mofaz, former Defense Minister under Ariel Sharon, who criticized Peretz for being indecisive about support for a ground offensive. Peretz gruffly scolded Mofaz for allowing a six-year build-up of Hezbollah and its weapons in southern Lebanon.
Olmert hesitated for days prior to the meeting on whether to approve the proposed expansion of the IDF ground operation in south Lebanon. Previously Defense Minister Peretz had proposed a move to the Litani and Olmert had rejected it. As Israel Insider reports today, Olmert has hesitated from the start of the campaign, rejected firm and decisive action proposed by the army, causing unprecedented tension with the IDF even to the point where frustrated military officers are discussing the possibility of a coup if the government fails to act decisively against the threat from Hezbollah.
Haaretz reported that Olmert was concerned that the plan presented by the defense establishment would result in hundreds of casualties, and therefore, wanted to subject it to a careful cost-benefit analysis.
According to a government source, Olmert had also asked the army to present him with several different options for a ground operation.
During a break in the cabinet meeting, Olmert telephoned U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, reportedly for 45 minutes, to provide her with an update on the situation and to hear from her developments on the diplomatic front.
National Infrastructure Minister Eli Yishai backed the position of the majority upon leaving the meeting, ynet reported: "The defense minister and the prime minister will decide the precise timing of when the military operation will be expanded. In my opinion, it will go on for 30 days. We are in a war and there is a need to expand operations. It's correct to act in a more wide-scale manner."
With that, Yishai added that he believed that most operations should be strikes from the air. "In the fight against Hizbullah we won. The dealing with the Katyusha rockets is different and therefore we must act aggressively and not abandon aerial activities. In my opinion, whole villages should be removed from the air when we have verified information that Katyusha rockets are being fired from there."
According to Channel Ten, Olmert did not authorize an attack on Lebanon's infrastructure.
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