The Winograd Commission probing the Second Lebanon War will publish the testimonies of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ,Defense Minister Amir Peretz and former IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz only two weeks after the publication of its interim report, the High Court of Justice ruled Thursday afternoon following a request made by the committee members.
Four judges voted in favor of the decision, while Justice Ayala Procaccia insisted that the testimonies be published before the interim report.
PetitionPublic has right to hear war probe testimonies, Meretz MK says / Aviram ZinoMK Zahava Gal-On appeals High Court following Winograd Commission's announcement that it will not publish its protocols before Passover holidayFull story
If another round of testimonies is required, "they will be as public as possible," they added.
Supreme Court President Dorit Beinish expressed her understanding in the ruling to the burden imposed on the committee and used it to explain the change in the High Court's stance.
"I have no doubt that at this time, when the date of the interim report is so close, the committee is focusing all its efforts on formulating the report, and its work is most probably strenuous," she said.
In the court ruling, Beinish once again criticized the Winograd Commission for changing its stance regarding the publication of the testimonies.
"If there were room for making claims, it was before the first petition, and there was no room to bring them up after the ruling," she said.
Returning to the first ruling made on the matter, Beinish said that "there it was made clear that the Winograd Commission must be committed to the public's right to know."
'Committee's reliability will be damaged'
The Winograd protocol saga began following a petition filed by Knesset Member Zahava Gal-On (Meretz), who claimed that the officials' testimonies must be published in the name of the public's right to know.
The High Court adopted the MK's stance, and forced the committee to release the testimonies of a number of witnesses, headed by Vice Premier Shimon Peres.
Following the embarrassment cased by Peretz's testimony, the committee members and the State Prosecutor's Office expressed their objection to the release of the protocols before the publication of the interim report.
MK Gal-On said in response to the court ruling that "the delay in the publication of the testimonies will mainly harm the reliability of the committee's report, its authority and its moral strength."
Sources involved in the Winograd Commission expressed their satisfaction over the court ruling, saying that it "speaks for itself."
Recently it was published that a number of Winograd Commission members threatened to resign if they were forced to release the testimonies before the interim report. They complained about the disturbance caused to their work due to external pressures.
First published: 17:05, 04.19.7