The Israeli government announces the creation of a commission to investigate the October 7 attacks

BarcelonaThe Israeli government announced on Sunday the creation of an "independent" commission of inquiry into the errors that allowed the October 7, 2013, attacks—that is, Hamas's entry into Israeli territory, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping 251 others. According to a public statement, the commission will not be a state body, but will have "full investigative powers," and the government will ensure its composition enjoys the broadest possible public support. In a state commission, members are appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. However, in this case, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will appoint the ministerial committee that will determine the timeline and topics to be investigated. Precisely for this reason, the opposition's reaction was swift.

"Their refusal to investigate the mistakes endangers the security of the state, constitutes an insult and an evasion of responsibility towards the soldiers and their families who have sacrificed so much since October 7," the opposition leader and representative of the secular Yes party declared on the social network X. "The government is doing everything possible to evade the truth and its responsibility. There is broad public consensus on the need for a state commission of inquiry," he added.

The leader of the Israeli left, Yair Golan, also considers it a contradiction that "the person being questioned," referring to Netanyahu, is the one "appointing his own interrogators." And the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, a non-partisan non-profit organization, has labeled the future investigative commission a "cover-up." "This is a clear attempt to avoid a genuine and independent investigation into the biggest failure in the history of the State [of Israel]," it emphasized in a statement.

Israel is the only country with a model of commission of inquiry appointed by the prime minister himself. Since 1968, twenty such commissions have been established to investigate various issues.

Prime Minister's Opposition

Throughout the more than two years of the Israeli offensive in Gaza, Netanyahu has opposed the creation of a state commission of inquiry to investigate the security failures that occurred before and during the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2013, despite widespread public demand for such a commission, according to reports. The prime minister has consistently argued that establishing such a commission could jeopardize the offensive in Gaza.

With the arrival of the ceasefire in the Gaza StripOn October 15, the Supreme Court warned the government that there were no longer any sound arguments against the creation of a state commission of inquiry and gave it 30 days to submit a proposal. So far, only the army and the Shin Bet, the Israeli intelligence agency, have conducted internal investigations into the events of October 7. However, according to a committee of experts, most of the investigations carried out by the army in 2024 were "incomplete and insufficient." October 7, 2023, represented one of the biggest military and intelligence failures in Israeli history: thousands of Palestinian militants, led by Hamas, managed to breach the border fence and attack communities near the Gaza Strip.