Report: Peretz thinking of resigning

Defense minister's associates say that if Peretz resigns, he will strengthen his position in the Labor Party.

Defense Minister Amir Peretz was weighing on Wednesday whether to resign his post and leave the government, associates of the defense minister and Labor Party chairman said. According to reports, Peretz's advisors were debating the possibility of his resigning following Monday's release of the Winograd Committee's findings on the failures of the Second Lebanon War, which stated that Peretz's lack of experience in military matters had "weakened" Israel's ability to confront the challenges of last summer's war. Some of Peretz's associates believed that he would strengthen his position in the Labor Party if he were to resign as defense minister.