JERUSALEM (BBC) -- A row of tents has been pitched in the rose garden outside the office of the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, in Jerusalem.

Red banners of protest hang in the cypress trees.

For the past few days, a group of Israeli reserve soldiers has taken up camp here.

Every night they are joined by several hundred of their comrades.

They have just returned from the war in Lebanon and they are angry.

During the conflict, 117 soldiers were killed - 50 of them were reservists.

Because of Israel's small population of about 6.4 million citizens, the army depends heavily on the reserves in times of war.

Most reservists supported the fight against Hezbollah and were happy to do their duty in battle. But now that the war is over, they say Israel's political and military leaders were ill-prepared and indecisive during the campaign.

Shai, an officer, who fought in southern Lebanon, blames both the government and the army for Israel's failure to defeat Hezbollah.

"Ninety percent of the population in Israel said it was justified to go to this war," he said. "What we're protesting about is the way it was managed, it was managed so stupidly. The prime minister, the defense minister and the chief of staff, just said go in, go in, go in, but they didn't do it wisely. We're much stronger, we could have won this war, but they didn't let us."

Another protester, Baruch Eitam, a paratrooper, said bad organization during the war undermined the army's ability to defend Israel.

"We found that the preparations that should have been made were not made," he said.

"Our gear - personal weapons and other equipment for the mission which was supposed to be ready for us - was not there. It took us a couple of days to organize it before we were ready for the mission."

In a letter to the Israeli army, the chief of staff, Gen Dan Halutz, has admitted there were shortcomings in the military's performance during the Lebanese war. He has promised a thorough investigation - as has Israel's political leadership.

But that is not enough for these reservists. As well as a far-reaching inquiry, they want Olmert, Gen Halutz and the defense minister, Amir Peretz, to step down. "They messed up and they have to pay the price, take responsibility, return the keys and go home," said Shai.

"In a state like Israel, there's no place for mistakes like this."

Israel's political and military leaders are hoping that the protests may eventually die down and that the reservists will eventually return home to their families.

But the reservists in the rose garden are determined to maintain the pressure.

They have planned more protest actions for the coming days.