Israeli army chided on Lebanon briefings

JERUSALEM, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A former spokeswoman for the Israeli military says it was a mistake to cancel daily briefings for the media during last year's incursion into Lebanon.

Miri Regev told a government commission that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) briefings were most likely canceled in order to block public criticism of the invasion, and the subsequent bloody fighting with Hezbollah.

"The army sometimes tends to be very tight-lipped when it comes to the press," Regey said in testimony published Monday by Ynetnews. "This is mainly out of fear of criticism. The IDF has forgotten, however, that up until the press fiasco in Lebanon, reporters were very supportive of and lenient towards the army and its troops."

Regev said that the televised briefings were canceled at a time when around 70 percent of Israeli viewers tuned in regularly for updates from Lebanon. With the briefings no longer available, the public had no source of information other than the "typical commentary and analysis."