Israeli defense minister to resign

JERUSALEM —  Israel’s defense minister said Saturday that he would step down after an inquiry commission criticized his handling of the war in Lebanon last summer, but he probably will wait until his Labor Party has held its primaries at the end of the month.

The government investigation found that Amir Peretz did not fulfill his duty as defense minister, in part because of his inexperience in military matters.

Peretz, who has been under pressure to resign, told Channel Two TV on Saturday that he would leave his post.

“I have made my decision,” he said. “But I think if I decided from one day to the next to get up and flee the defense ministry, I would be doing something bad, bad for the security and the state of Israel.”

About 100,000 people from across the political spectrum demonstrated Thursday in Tel Aviv to urge Peretz and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to resign.

Israel launched the 34-day war on July 12 after the Lebanese militia Hezbollah attacked an Israeli border patrol, killing eight soldiers and kidnapping two others. Hundreds of Hezbollah fighters and 119 Israeli soldiers were killed during the war, as were more than 1,000 Lebanese and 39 Israeli civilians.

The long-awaited Winograd Commission report said Olmert had hastily led the country into conflict against Hezbollah without a comprehensive plan, exercised poor judgment and bore ultimate responsibility for a war that ended inconclusively.

It also found that the prime minister was responsible for “very severe failures” in the conflict. It concluded that had Olmert, Peretz or then-army chief of staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz acted differently, the outcome of the war would have been better.