The Winograd C'ttee: From first shot to final salvo

By DAN IZENBERG
July 12, 2006: Hizbullah abducts Ehud Goldwasser and Ehud Regev, kills three other soldiers in ambush, while five more die in other incidents. Israel retaliates with air strikes. In the days that follow, IDF steps up bombings, including Shi'ite neighborhood in Beirut. From the beginning of the war, Hizbullah fires hundreds of Katyusha rockets at Israeli targets including Haifa, Safed, Kiryat Shmona, Carmiel, Ma'alot and Tiberias. August 11, 2006: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert orders ground forces into southern Lebanon in attempt to reach Litani River and cut off Hizbullah. Aims not achieved. Thirty-three soldiers killed in two-day campaign. August 14: UN cease-fire agreement goes into effect. War over. 52 Israeli civilians and 117 soldiers killed during hostilities. Some 3,200 treated in hospitals. Almost 4,000 rockets fired on Israel. The Final Winograd Report: All the latest news and analyses August-September 2006: Bereaved families, reservist soldiers, and watchdog organizations hold protests demanding that government appoint a judicial commission of inquiry to investigate government's handling of war. September 17: Olmert refuses demands but appoints a committee of examination and appoints retired Tel Aviv District Court President Eliahu Winograd to head it. Other members include Professors Ruth Gabison and Yehezkel Dror and retired Major Generals Haim Nadel and Menahem Einan. September 19: Movement for Quality Government petitions High Court, demanding that a judicial commission of inquiry be appointed instead of the Winograd Committee. On November 11, court rejected petition in a 4-3 vote, after state promises that Winograd Committee will have similar authorities to state commission of inquiry. October 2007 - April 2008: Winograd Committee hears testimony from 73 witnesses, including top echelons of government and army. April 30, 2007: Winograd Committee publishes interim report. It does not include personal recommendations but declares that "there were failures" regarding the decision to go to war and the decision-making process and holds Olmert, then-defense minister Amir Peretz and then-Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz responsible. Olmert refuses to resign. November 14, 2007: Winograd Committee informs High Court of Justice it will not publish facts, conclusions or recommendations that might cause harm to individuals who played a role in the Second Lebanon War and the events leading up to it.