MK petitions Court to make committee release PM, Peretz, Halutz statements.
By JPOST.COM STAFFgal-on 298.88(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Meretz faction head MK Zehava Gal-On petitioned the High Court of Justice on Sunday to instruct the Winograd Commission to make the testimonies of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Amir Peretz and former IDF chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz available to the public before publishing its interim report.
Gal-On also demanded that the commission, which is charged with investigating the handling of last summer's war in Lebanon, publicize the schedule detailing when each of the protocols of the commission's discussions would be revealed.
The Meretz MK submitted a similar petition in January, asking the court to order the commission to allow public access to the hearings, which have thus far been conducted behind closed doors.
IDF demands advance draft of war report
The High Court rejected the petition last month, but ordered the commission to publish the minutes from the meetings as quickly as possible, after deleting portions that could threaten national security.
In her ruling, Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch stressed the importance of the principle that hearings should be transparent and that the public had a right to know. She ordered the committee to publish the minutes before submitting its final report, so that the public would have facts by which it could judge the commission's findings for itself.
Dan Izenberg contributed to this report.
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