Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said that the military strategy during last summer's war on Hizbullah was drawn up months in advance.
Olmert made the statements during testimony last month before a governmental commission investigating the 34-day war against Lebanon's Hizbullah, according to Thursday's edition of the Tel Aviv-based Haaretz newspaper.
According to the leaked testimony, Olmert told the commission that in March 2006, as acting prime minister, he asked to review the military's possible responses if Hizbullah captured Israeli troops. "Presented with the options, he selected a moderate plan that included air attacks accompanied by a limited ground operation," Haaretz said. The plan was in fact implemented after Hizbullah snached two soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12, 2006.
Olmert has been widely criticized following the war, with critics accusing him of rushing into the conflict without enough reflection and preparation.
When asked by panel members why the ground operation in Lebanon was expanded towards the end of the fighting, Olmert said he was trying to influence UN Security Council deliberations "so that the draft resolution 1701, calling for a ceasefire, would be amended in Israel's favour," the daily said.
Olmert testified before the commission on February 1.
