Israeli cabinet rejects state inquiry into October 7; opposition warns of repeated failures

TEL AVIV: Israeli opposition leaders slammed the government on Monday after the Cabinet decided not to establish a state commission of inquiry into Hamas’ October 7 attacks.

“The only meaning of not establishing a state commission of inquiry is that the October 7 disaster will happen to us again and again. If we don’t investigate what led to the disaster, we won’t be able to draw lessons and ensure that it won’t happen again,” tweeted opposition leader and former prime minister Yair Lapid.

“Netanyahu tried to prevent the establishment of a state investigation committee into the Meron disaster and the submarine affair. This time too, a state investigation committee will be established,” Lapid added.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has resisted calls for an inquiry, saying he opposes a “politically biased” probe. Critics accuse Netanyahu of delaying the inquiry and trying to water down its mandate.

In response to petitions filed by the families of hostages, bereaved families and former Knesset members, Israel’s High Court of Justice in February ordered the government to submit its position on such an inquiry by May 11.

Israeli media reports suggested that the Cabinet wants legislative changes to the way commissions of inquiry are appointed before giving its approval.

Opposition MK Benny Gantz tweeted in response, “The public is not stupid. The only reason a state commission of inquiry is not being established is an attempt to escape responsibility.

If you’re not going to do it, at least spare us the embarrassing excuses.”

While the army and Israel Security Agency have completed their internal reports on the failures leading up to and during the October 7 attack, those probes only dealt with issues of operations, intelligence and command, not decisions made by the political echelon.

State commissions of inquiry have broad authority to summon witnesses and collect evidence and are headed by a senior Supreme Court justice. They may include personal recommendations about individuals under investigation, though the government is not bound to act on them.

The last state commission of inquiry, which investigated Israel’s worst civilian disaster — a stampede that killed 45 people at a holy site on Mount Meron—held Netanyahu personally responsible for the tragedy in a report released in 2024.

According to a series of army probes — summaries of which have been released in recent weeks —some 5,000 terrorists from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad managed to attack numerous Israeli communities and overrun the army’s border positions. The army’s chain of command broke amid the chaos and soldiers were outnumbered.

They also found that the army misunderstood Hamas’s intentions for years, and as October 7 approached, intelligence about the looming attack was misinterpreted. The military was also more focused on threats from Iran and its proxy, Hezbollah in Lebanon.

At least 1,180 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 59 remaining hostages, 36 are believed to be dead. (ANI/TPS)