Netanyahu finally announces October 7 inquiry: Why are Israelis furious?

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement to lead the investigation into the government’s failings ahead of the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023 has drawn sharp criticism from all sides of Israel.

Since the attacks, there have been countless calls for a state commission of inquiry to be led by a sitting or retired Supreme Court justice.

The establishment of an inquiry that can demand the government’s guilt has been backed by senior military figures, the families of many of the people who were killed or taken as captive on October 7 and polls of the Israeli population.

Netanyahu has gone to great lengths to prevent any official inquiries into any errors in his or his government’s actions, arguing instead that the responsibility of overseeing his nation’s genocidal war against Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of more than 70, 000 people since October 2023, had to be prioritized.

However, the Prime Minister’s Office announced on Thursday that Netanyahu would instead be moving forward with legislation to create a politically appointed inquiry, with parliament Speaker Amir Ohana, a close ally of the prime minister, expected to play a significant role in the selection of its members.

A chair would be chosen from among the six members of the plan’s body, according to the organization. For each of the six appointments, the government has stated that it will first seek cross-party support. However, Ohana would be authorized to appoint its representatives if the opposition boycotts the proceedings as is widely anticipated.

On Monday, coincidentally the day that Netanyahu’s long-running corruption trial is scheduled to take place, the ministerial team tasked with determining the scope of the inquiry will meet in West Jerusalem.

Why won’t the investigation be impartial?

According to a poll conducted by Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies in October, three out of four Israelis voted in favor of establishing an independent state inquiry.

Senior military personnel and the families of those killed or taken hostage by the October 7 attack experience feelings that are particularly high.

After some of the families of the bereaved were accused of holding up signs demanding a state inquiry in court, some of the proceedings in Netanyahu’s criminal trial were delayed earlier this month. They strenuously denied this accusation.

The relatives did not “provoke him]Netanyahu] in the eyes and demand the simplest of things, a state commission of inquiry,” the father of one of the soldiers killed on October 7 told the judges.

Herzi Halevi, the former head of the military, and former defense minister Yoav Gallant have both repeatedly called for a state inquiry.

22 former captors and dozens of family members wrote open letters to the government demanding either a state inquiry be launched or the government step down.

The letter urges Israel’s government to stop evading, stop putting things off, stop lying, and establish a full state commission of inquiry right away.

However, Netanyahu and his ruling coalition have repeatedly criticized the concept of a state inquiry, claiming that a Supreme Court-appointed judge cannot be relied upon to render an impartial decision.

What kind of political response was given to the inquiry’s announcement?

Fury outside the coalition

The Democratic leader, Yair Golan, wrote on social media that “this isn’t a conflict of interest; it’s organized crime organized under the guise of the law.” The man who caused the biggest disaster in human history is seeking an alibi rather than answers.

The planned inquiry has been criticized by other Netanyahu opponents.

A guilty conscience also comes to life when Avigdor Liberman, the Yisrael Beytenu party’s leader, uses a Hebrew expression that reads “a guilty conscience gives itself away.”

Meanwhile, Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party announced that it would request that the government appoint a state commission of inquiry on Monday.

How have victims of October 7’s families handled the situation?

Angrily.

The October Council, a group representing the families of Israelis killed and taken captive on October 7, released a statement in response to the government’s announcement. “The Israeli government continues to spit in the face of the bereaved families, the freed hostages, the hostages’ families, the victims’ families, the residents of the south and the north, the reservists, and of all Israeli citizens.”

You, who will be subject to the same state commission of inquiry, will not obstruct the investigation or conceal the truth, the letter continued, addressing the government. You won’t be permitted. You have fought back against us, against our loved ones’ memories, and against our children’s future.

What inquiries have been made in the past?

An army investigation into its actions on October 7 and subsequent attacks in February found that the army had greatly underestimated the Palestinian group’s capabilities.

Halevi acknowledged the “terrible” security and intelligence “failures” that had plagued the military’s response to the incursion and that he had already resigned prior to the inquiry’s conclusion.

Eyal Zamir’s successor, Halevi, appointed an external panel in November, which revealed the military’s “inadequate” investigation into its conduct.

Israel’s internal security agency, the Shin Bet, acknowledged a number of mistakes in a separate investigation in March, including failing to correctly identify Hamas’ threat and share information with the military. Ronen Bar, the Shin Bet director, announced his resignation in April following a drawn-out dispute with Netanyahu.

Source: Aljazeera