Olmert testifies on war

Tel Aviv: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert began testifying on Thursday in a state inquiry into the Israeli-Hezbollah war in Lebanon.

Olmert gave his closed-door testimony to the Winograd Committee, which was appointed to probe the government's and military's handling of last year's 34-day war in Lebanon.

He was the last in at least 70 senior political and military officials to testify before the commission since it was set up in September.

The commission, headed by retired judge Eliyahu Winograd, is due to present its findings in the coming weeks.

Olmert's popularity has plummeted since the war, which was met by public criticism following the death of more than a thousand civilians from the Lebanese and Israeli side.