An Israeli court has delayed the release of the first official investigation on the country’s conduct during the war in Lebanon, amid an extraordinary row pitting the Prime Minister and military against the government watchdog carrying out the probe.

Micha Lindenstrauss, the state Comptroller, was due today to present to a parliamentary committee his interim findings on Israeli efforts to protect civilians during the 34-day war. But after a last-minute appeal by the army, the Supreme Court ruled that he could not present any conclusions now, and could only talk about his methods for collecting information for the report.

Mr Lindenstrauss’s inquiry – one of several probes on the subject which could determine Ehud Olmert’s political future - was predicted to deliver a scathing verdict on the handling of the "home front" before and during last summer’s conflict. It was expected to accuse the army and Mr Olmert, the Prime Minister, of leaving civilians virtually defenceless as Israel was hit by more than 4,000 rockets fired by Lebanon’s Hezbollah fighters.

The controversial conflict – widely viewed by Israelis as inconclusive - claimed the lives of 159 Israelis, including 39 civilians and has seen Mr Olmert’s poll ratings plummet. Critics have charged that residents in the north were not adequately protected, citing poor conditions in many bomb shelters, no early warning systems in some towns and no evacuation plans.

In a bid to assuage public anger, the Prime Minister last year tasked Mr Lindenstrauss to carry out a review on the government’s performance in protecting the country, while another commission was appointed to investigate the handling of the war itself.

But the inquiry sparked an unprecented bout of mudslinging when Mr Lindenstrauss hinted his findings could examine the personal conduct of several key players, including Mr Olmert and the head of the army’s Home Front Command.

Mr Olmert charged the Comptroller with waging a politically motivated attack, while Mr Lindenstrauss – who is also probing alleged property deals made by the Prime Minister – accused Mr Olmert of failing to co-operate by refusing to appear personally to answer questions and providing incomplete written replies.

The row grew even further over the weekend as the proposed release of the report drew closer, with Mr Olmert and Mr Lindenstrauss exchanging angry letters that were leaked to the media. And yesterday, the home front commander, General Yitzhak Gershon, filed a last-minute appeal against the report’s release, complaining that the Comptroller had not given him sufficient time to respond to the findings, leaving them one-sided.

Even though the court ruled in Mr Gershon’s favour, Mr Lindenstrauss had already agreed to keep the report private for the moment, saying its final findings would be ready in about four months. Nonetheless, the row showed few signs of abating as he took a further swipe at the Prime Minister, accusing him of dragging his feet in responding to his questions.

“Our problem was receiving the information we needed from the Prime Minister,” he told the parliamentary committee. “If we don’t have the answers and background material, then all our work is delayed.”

Major war-time failures in protecting Israeli civilians have already been exposed in a recent report by parliament’s powerful defence and foreign affairs committee. The Lindenstrauss report comes weeks ahead of the publication of the long-awaited main inquiry into the handling of the war, conducted by the so-called Winograd committee headed by a retired judge.

As well as the Israeli casualties, 1,200 Lebanese were killed in the conflict that also saw Israel slammed abroad for the devastating use of its firepower in Lebanon, where thousands of homes and infrastructure targets were destroyed.

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