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Israel seeks a name for war
13/03/2007 13:01 - (SA)
Jerusalem - Defence minister Amir Peretz, who faces nationwide calls to resign over last year's war in Lebanon, has ordered aides to find a name for the conflict, widely perceived in Israel as a failure.
The minister has commissioned two reserve generals and a law professor to drum up a name, said his office in a statement on Tuesday.
The army initially called its 34-day campaign in Lebanon "Operation Just Reward" before renaming it "Operation Change of Direction".
Cabinet minister Yaacov Ederi, who chairs a committee responsible for official ceremonies, said he was also on the hunt for a name and would convene his committee to discuss the matter on Monday.
"I've been working on this for 10 days at the request of the bereaved families," he said.
"Defence officials can bring their suggestions to the committee on Monday," he said, denying there was any competition between rival departments and preferring talk of a "military operation" rather than war.
'Multiple investigations'
Israel and Lebanon's Shi'ite militia Hezbollah fought each other between July 12 and August 14.
The media coined the conflict the Second Lebanon War following Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon, dubbed Operation Peace in Galilee.
Israel has commissioned multiple investigations into the widely perceived failures of the conflict, most notably a government commission, in a bid to appease public criticism and protests from thousands of army reservists.
Although members of the public urged Peretz and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to step down due to the war, Israel's military chief of staff Dan Halutz has been the only top level leader so far to resign as a result of the conflict.
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