Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected on Saturday an alternative that would establish a state probe into Hamas’s October 7 attacks, which was previously agreed upon by President Isaac Herzog and Supreme Court Chief Justice Isaac Amit.
“The public is entitled to a genuine, non-politically biased investigative committee, whose composition represents the majority of the people and which will investigate everyone – without exception,” the prime minister said. “Unfortunately, that is not what is being proposed here.”
If the agreement had been enforced, Amit would have established a commission and selected its members in consultation with Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, who is expected to become the deputy chief of the Supreme Court.
National Unity head MK Benny Gantz had previously welcomed Herzog and Amit’s agreement on the initiative.
“A state commission of inquiry is urgently needed for the nation’s unity, for our security, and for all who have paid the price for the greatest failure in the state’s history,” he said on X/Twitter. “One way or another, a state probe will be established.”
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Herzog’s proposal does not violate Amit’s authority and allows for the establishment of a state investigation committee that will gain the trust of an absolute majority of the public.
Democrats Party head Yair Golan said: “No tricks and no gimmicks. A state investigation committee is needed now.”
Former prime minister Naftali Bennett said that Herzog’s proposal is a balanced and correct compromise.
“This is a time for compromises and agreements,” he said.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the agreement is a “terrible disaster,” adding that the October 7 attacks should only be investigated after the war by a committee that will gain the trust of the majority of the people, and not one formed by a political Supreme Court that is not worthy of trust.
Saturday was not the first time the prime minister rejected a state probe
Netanyahu’s refusal to accept Herzog and Amit’s agreement comes two weeks after he had already rejected a previous state probe. Standing in the Knesset plenum, he also said he would only form a committee of inquiry that “enjoyed the trust of the majority of the people.”
The prime minister also said members appointed by Amit in a state commission would be politically biased.
Families of victims who were killed in the October 7 attacks were seen turning their backs on Netanyahu as he was speaking in the Knesset.
The prime minister’s comments came as dozens of family members of civilians and soldiers killed on October 7 and the ensuing war waved pictures of their loved ones and demanded a state commission of inquiry.
Herzog’s meeting with Amit on Saturday also saw the president share that thousands of citizens, including bereaved families from Hamas’s massacres, requested a thorough investigation of the attacks that would be independent and impartial.
Eliav Breuer contributed to this report.