Israel Matzav

Kadima threatened on Tuesday to petition the High Court against the composition of the committee charged with investigating the violence during the evacuation of the illegal outpost in Amona four weeks ago.

Last week the Knesset decided, in a specially convened session, to assign the Knesset Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee with studying the Amona incident. Three members of the committee were MKs Uri Ariel, Aryeh Eldad, and Effi Eitam, who were all present at the outpost and were engaged in active confrontations with security forces. The latter two were even injured.

Monday's first meeting of the Knesset's investigative committee into the violence at Amona was intended to be procedural, but political jockeying quickly came into play when the committee announced that it would call Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to testify 10 days before the national elections next month.

The move was seen as an effort to undermine the Kadima leader, whose victory in the elections has been widely anticipated by polls.

According to its mandate, the investigative committee will meet as a subcommittee of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee until the next Knesset is formed. MK Yuval Steinitz (Likud) will head the panel, with Matan Vilna'i (Labor), Uri Ariel (National Union) and Ilan Shalgi (Arrow) also serving.

"This committee is not political, we are launching an investigation because we need to know what happened in Amona," said Steinitz, who has criticized Olmert in the past. "We will ensure that we function as a politically balanced team."

In its first meeting, the committee decided to call Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz, chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz, Chief of Police Moshe Karadi, OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Yair Naveh, and the leaders of the Yesha Council in addition to Olmert.

When the Knesset voted to launch the committee last week, Olmert promised to dismantle it if he were elected prime minister in the upcoming elections.

But of course....

Meanwhile, YNet reports that the cover-up attempt has already begun. 'Internal security' minister Gideon Ezra ( Kadima Achora) is going to represent the police at the 'Amona' inquiry and will not allow any police to testify.

Ezra is already being loudly condemned.