A bill to form a state commission of inquiry into the October 7 massacre was struck down by the coalition in the Knesset plenum on Wednesday.
Following a stormy debate, the MKs voted 53-45 against the bill, which was submitted by the opposition.
A state commission of inquiry is the most powerful probe in the legal system and the only type that operates independently of the political echelon. Its members are appointed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court, and it has the power to subpoena witnesses and make personal recommendations regarding individuals.
The other types of probes are government- and Knesset-appointed inquiry committees.
Nevertheless, the coalition has attempted to come up with an alternative committee whose members would be appointed by the coalition and the opposition.
Lack of public trust
The opposition has rejected such proposals. The coalition has argued that there is a lack of public trust in the Supreme Court, and therefore, it should not be given the power to appoint committee members.
Recent polls have indicated that about 70% of Israelis support a state commission of inquiry to investigate the October 7 massacre. A forum representing more than 1,000 families of the victims, called the October 7 Council, was formed in recent months to demand a state commission of inquiry.
Innovation, Science, and Technology Minister Gila Gamliel (Likud), who represented the government’s position on the bill, said the Knesset and not the chief justice would establish a commission of inquiry when the Israel-Hamas War ends.
The debate in the Knesset plenum was marred by prolonged shouting matches between coalition and opposition MKs. Opposition MKs shouted “shame” at their coalition counterparts. Family members of October 7 massacre victims sat in the visitors’ section of the Knesset plenum and held up signs showing their loved ones.
National Unity chairman Benny Gantz, whose colleague MK Orit Farkash-Hacohen presented the bill, wrote on X/Twitter following the vote: “Yesterday the chief of staff takes responsibility and resigns – today in front of bereaved families, the coalition votes against a state commission of inquiry. Such a committee will form – if not in this Knesset, then in the next Knesset.”
Members of Otzma Yehudit, which recently left the government and coalition, voted against the proposal. MKs from the New Hope-United Right Party led by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who has said in the past that he supports a state commission of inquiry, were not present.
The October 7 Council said the rejection of the proposal was a “shame and disgrace.”
“The MKs who voted against [the bill] have dishonored the memory of the victims of October 7 and will bring upon us another October 7,” it said. “The investigation of the October 7 failure is not only in the interest of the bereaved families but of the entire nation; there will be no security here until a state commission of inquiry is established.
“We will lead the greatest struggle since the establishment of the state until a state commission of inquiry is established. In the name of our loved ones, we declare: A state commission of inquiry for the terrible disaster will be established! Everything and everyone must be investigated,” the October 7 Council said.
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