Netanyahu coalition blocks Knesset proposal for October 7 state probe

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, in Jerusalem, October 20, 2025
Photo: Reuters

No one from the Prime Minister's Office showed up as coalition lawmakers voted down the creation of a state commission to probe the October 7 failures. Bereaved families accused Netanyahu's coalition of 'fighting the truth' instead of seeking accountability, ‘Haaretz’ exclaims.

A proposal to establish a state commission of inquiry into the events of October 7 was voted down by the Knesset State Control Committee on Wednesday. The commission of inquiry would have allowed a committee to investigate the failures that led to the Hamas massacre and the ensuing war in Gaza.

The proposal had been initiated by the opposition-controlled committee as a way to bypass attempts by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government to block such an inquiry. Although MK Mickey Levi, from the centrist Yesh Atid party, chairs the committee, the coalition holds a majority of seats on it, and the proposal was rejected by a 6-to-4 vote.

Even though they were invited, not a single representative of the Prime Minister's Office attended the meeting, according to committee sources. When the meeting opened, several coalition members were not present, prompting a demand from opposition representatives that the vote be held in their absence. Levi declined, explaining that it was impossible to hold a vote before a proper discussion had been held..

Bereaved family members who attended the hearing protested coalition attempts to block the establishment of a state commission of inquiry headed by a sitting or retired Supreme Court justice. Coalition members have instead proposed that government appoint a committee of investigation.

"We were promised outright that a state commission of inquiry would be established immediately after the war ended," said Reut Edri, mother of Ido Edri, who was murdered at the Nova Music Festival. "Now, time and again, we see attempts to set up committees that are not legally sanctioned committees of inquiry. There can be no resurrection without accountability and a real inquiry."

Hila Abir, the sister of American-Israeli Lotan Abir, who was also killed at the Nova festival, confronted Shas lawmakers, reminding them that they had stood in favor of an investigative committee.

The October Council, a group representing about 1,500 family members of Israelis killed on October 7, denounced those committee members who rejected the establishment of a special commission of inquiry. "The Knesset members who voted today against establishing a state investigation committee view us, the bereaved families, residents of the south, victims of October 7, as enemies," the group said in a statement.

"Rather than joining in our fight for the truth," the council said, "they choose time and again to fight us and the state of Israel."

Democrats Party Chairman Yair Golan expressed similar frustrations. "The coalition has again toppled the inquiry committee for October 7 because they know that the main person responsible for the greatest disaster in Israel's history is Netanyahu," he wrote. "The people of Israel know and will not forget and will not forgive."

Yesh Atid lawmaker Shelly Tal-Meron said: "Shameful, a disgrace, a moral stain on the Netanyahu government and all the mice who rush to vote against bereaved families."

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