Israeli war report won't urge Olmert ouster - TV

JERUSALEM, Apr 27 (Reuters) An imminent Israeli commission of inquiry report on last year's Lebanon war will censure Prime Minister Ehud Olmert but will not recommend he resign, Israeli television reported today.

The Winograd Commission report, which is due out on Monday, is widely expected to shape the fate of Olmert and Defence Minister Amir Peretz, whose popularity has plummeted since the inconclusive July-August offensive against Lebanese Hezbollah.

Channel Ten television quoted a leaked copy of the 160-page report as criticising Olmert for ''misguided and rash judgment'' in launching the air, sea and land assault after Hezbollah guerrillas abducted two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid. The panel further accused Olmert, who unlike many of his predecessors lacks a military pedigree, of too easily approving missions proposed by his top brass and of lacking foresight on how the Lebanese campaign could play out, Channel Ten said.

It said that Peretz, a former trade union boss who took the defence portfolio as part of a coalition deal with Olmert, was faulted by the Winograd Commission for his inadequate knowledge in matters of national security.

But Channel Ten political correspondent Chico Menashe added: ''It has to be pointed out that there is no bottom line telling Prime Minister Olmert or Peretz what to do. They are not telling them to go home.'' Many Olmert critics suspect that the Winograd Committee will pull its punches, noting that it was appointed by the government despite public calls for a more independent panel.

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