Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - A government commission's report on the Israel-Hizballah war, due out Monday, is expected to harshly criticize Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, further pressuring him to resign.

Olmert's popularity has plummeted since last summer's war -- partly because of Israel did not achieve a decisive victory, and partly because of numerous corruption allegations involving Olmert and members in his government. Opinion polls show Olmert with single-digit support.

Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz are expected to receive a copy of the report late Monday afternoon, an hour before an unclassified version will be released to the press and the public.

But leaks to the media over the weekend indicated the report would not go easy on the Israeli leadership.

The report, from a commission headed by former judge Eliyahu Winograd, examines the first five days of the war. Olmert is criticized for what the commission called "misguided and rash judgment," according to a report on Israel's Channel 10 television.

Peretz, who had almost no experience in defense and army matters, is criticized for taking the top defense ministry job in the first place and for not seeking expert advice to compensate for his lack of knowledge. He is expected to resign following upcoming primaries in his Labor party.

Former army chief Lt.-Gen Dan Halutz is also criticized for not taking the Hizballah missile attacks on northern Israeli communities seriously enough and for not stopping them. Halutz resigned in January over allegations of war failures.

Hizballah launched some 4,000 rockets and missiles at northern Israeli communities, paralyzing the northern third of the country and forcing a million Israelis to either flee or take refuge in bomb shelters.

The summer war was sparked by Hizballah's cross-border raid. The militant Islamic group killed several Israeli soldiers and abducted two others. Their fate is still unknown.

More than 1,000 Lebanese were killed in the fighting, many of them civilians trapped by the fighting. On the Israeli side, 119 soldiers and 39 civilians were killed.

The Winograd report reportedly does not specifically call for Olmert to resign, but some Israeli politicians are doing so. On Sunday, associates of the prime minister insisted that he had no intention of quitting in the wake of the report.

Olmert apparently is waiting to see how the public will respond. If there is a groundswell of protest calling for his resignation, he could be forced out of office, analysts say.

Tens of thousands of Israelis are expected to join a protest against Olmert in Tel Aviv on Thursday evening. People living in communities along Israel's northern border with Lebanon also have called for a strike of public institutions on Thursday to protest government plans to eliminate tax breaks given to residents who suffered through the bombardment.

If Olmert is forced to resign, it would not be the first time such a thing happened as a result of war failures. Former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir and her entire government resigned after the 1973 Yom Kippur War, even though the investigating commission cleared her of personal responsibility.

Israel won that war but was caught off guard as it marked the most solemn day on the Jewish religious calendar.

In other news, Israeli army Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen Gaby Ashkenazi told Israeli Knesset members on Sunday that Hizballah needs only one more government minister to give it veto power over Lebanese government decisions.

That is significant, because the Lebanese government must soon decide whether to renew the mandate of the international peacekeeping force (UNIFIL) in Lebanon, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Ashkenazi said that Hizballah is trying to move its forces south of the Litani River, closer to the Israeli border.

Hizballah also continues to smuggle arms across the long Lebanese-Syrian border, Ashkenazi said.

See Earlier Stories:
Hizballah Growing Stronger, Israel Says (Feb. 20, 2007)
Looks Can Be Deceiving Along Israel's Northern Border (Jan. 10, 2007)
Israel's Post-War Protest Gains Momentum (Aug. 25, 2006)