Olmert defends handling of Lebanon war at inquiry

JERUSALEM, Feb 1 (Reuters) Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert today defended his handling of last year's Lebanon war for more than five hours before a commission of inquiry.

The state-appointed Winograd Committee grilled Olmert on his decision to go to war hours after Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas abducted two Israeli soldiers on July 12, rather than pursue a long-standing restraint policy, a spokesman for the panel said.

Israeli public support for the offensive was strong at first but soured when the armed forces failed to recover the captives or halt cross-border rocket salvoes by Hezbollah. Around 1,200 Lebanese and 159 Israelis were killed before a August 14 truce.

An Israeli official said Olmert gave 5-1/2 hours of ''focused and detailed'' testimony to the Winograd Committee.

''The prime minister did not blame others. His purpose was to explain the various considerations at the most crucial decision-making points during the campaign,'' the official said without giving further details.

In earlier public statements Olmert, who lacks a military pedigree, described the war as a success. He noted it led to a boosted UN peacekeeper presence which largely banished Hezbollah from southern Lebanon.

Olmert, along with Defence Minister Amir Peretz, has seen his popularity plummet since the Lebanon war and the Israeli opposition has called for his resignation and early elections.

The chief of Israeli armed forces during the campaign, Lieutenant-General Dan Halutz, quit over the war's outcome as did two other senior commanders who took part in the fighting.

Peretz, who has already appeared before the Winograd Committee, has said he would step down if the panel found him personally responsible for the campaign's failings.

Olmert has not made such a pledge and Israel's Channel Two television quoted sources close to the prime minister as voicing confidence he would not be tainted by the inquiry.

Olmert has argued Israel's offensive shored up its power to deter regional foes.

Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in an August 27 interview he would not have ordered the border raid in which the soldiers were seized had he known it would mean war.

Nasrallah has since described his group's survival against the Middle East's mightiest military as a ''divine victory'' and said Hezbollah is back to its pre-war capabilities.

Reuters SBA VP0220