Israeli PM under fire for 'fig-leaf' Lebanon war probe

Acknowledging a wave of discontent for a war that failed to achieve its main objectives and which left 162 Israelis dead, the increasingly unpopular Olmert said Monday the committee of inquiry would be chaired by a former Mossad head.

"The committee will be charged with the task of examining the functioning of the government, its proceedings and decision making and anything else it sees fit to examine," he said in a televised speech.

But he rejected the establishment of a state commission -- the most powerful type of inquiry in Israel -- which he said would "competely paralyse" the leadership when warfare was not yet fully over and Iran posed a threat.

Politicians on both the left and right-wing united in a maelstrom of criticism that Olmert, whose approval ratings have sunk to an all-time low since taking office in May, had backed a toothless inquiry.