Jerusalem ? Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert resisted mounting calls for his resignation Monday after a government-appointed panel concluded that he was responsible for a “serious failure” of judgment that sent the army unprepared into last summer’s inconclusive war in Lebanon.

A long-awaited interim report on the government’s conduct of the war said Olmert had rushed into it “without a second thought,” and with no detailed plan or realistic goals. It was equally scathing of Defense Minister Amir Peretz, saying his inexperience “impaired Israel’s ability” in the conflict.

The unexpectedly harsh findings stopped short of calling for either man to step down. But the conclusions cast doubt on the longevity of their 13-month-old coalition government.

“It would not be correct to resign, and I have no intention of resigning,” a weary-looking Olmert said later in a terse pre-recorded statement televised nationwide. Olmert said he would “act to correct all that needs fixing, thoroughly and fast,” and convene a special Cabinet session Wednesday.

Olmert and his defense minister have been deeply unpopular since the war, which Israelis perceive as a psychological defeat. It erupted July 12 after Hezbollah guerrillas killed eight Israeli soldiers and captured two others in a cross-border raid.

In 34 days of fighting, the army failed for the first time in its history to vanquish an Arab foe. It was unable to retrieve the captured soldiers, destroy Hezbollah or prevent the group from firing thousands of rockets into Israel. Israel’s bombardment of civilian targets in retaliation was strongly condemned by the international community.

Olmert’s government has clung to its majority in Parliament since the war with a bunkerlike mentality. Members fear making any controversial move that might precipitate calls from the parliament for new elections; opinion polls say a vote now would be won by the conservative Likud Party.

Even so, calls for both men’s resignation rose Monday from inside the ruling alliance, echoing a public outcry.

A protest movement led by a former general, military reservists who fought in Lebanon, and parents of soldiers killed in the war is organizing a rally around the slogan “You have failed; go home,” to take place Thursday in Tel Aviv.