Former IDF Chief of Staff Lt. General (Res.) Dan Shomron will head the probe into the performance of Chief of Staff Dan Halutz and the general staff during the war in Lebanon. Shomron is expected to start in the next few days.
Halutz's request was presented to Shomron a few weeks ago, but because Shomron had been abroad and returned to Israel a few days ago, the matter was only finalized Tuesday. Shomron's investigation team will work alongside other teams recently appointed to investigate the war in Lebanon on all levels.
Ever since the end of the war it was clear that a comprehensive probe into the performance of the chief of staff and the general staff was necessary in addition to all other units and levels.
The appointment of the investigation was necessary because both the general staff and the chief of staff had direct influence on the decision-making process during the war.
'Halutz shouldn't appoint his own investigator'
Despite the necessity of an investigation, sources within the IDF have expressed their uneasiness with the way Gen. Shomron was appointed to the task.
"The chief of staff should not be the one to appoint the investigator who will be probing his own performance. The minister of defense should do that," said a senior IDF official. It is important to note that up until now, the IDF has chosen to appoint investigators who have little or no connections with the subjects of their probes.
Dan Shomron, 69, was appointed as the IDF's 13th chief of staff in 1987. During his stint, the "Lavi" aircraft project was canceled, the first Gulf War broke out, and the first intifada exploded in the West Bank and Gaza.
After his retirement from the army, Shomron served as Chairman of Israeli Military Industries, and was part of the "Third Way" political party who ran for the Knesset in 1995. He also participated in negotiation teams for the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.