Knesset panel prepares to investigate Operation Protective Edge

Last week, Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Ze'ev Elkin (Likud) said Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee should probe operation.

By LAHAV HARKOV
Ze'ev Elkin 370 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
Ze'ev Elkin 370
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee began preparations for its examination of Operation Protective Edge on Monday.
The committee, which, other than the State Comptroller, is the only body with oversight over the IDF and Defense Ministry, discussed the mechanism by which it will look into the current operation and the topics it will review in a closed-door meeting.
Last week, Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Ze'ev Elkin (Likud) said he believes the forum he leads is the most appropriate place to probe decisions made during the operation in Gaza, as it has a "long memory," via protocols of testimony given by top government and security officials to the panel, and former defense ministers and IDF chiefs of staff are among its members.
"It would be a crime if we didn't use what we have at our disposal to learn the maximum amount of lessons," Elkin told The Jerusalem Post. "I will lead the committee in this direction and I hope the heads of state will cooperate. Even if they don't like it, I will act without prejudice."
Elkin added that he hopes the committee's investigation will lead to conclusions that can be used in future situations, saying that is more important than looking at the past.
"The problem with investigative reports on paper is that they're written down and then that's all that happens," he added.