"The crucial question is who investigates": Netanyahu's statements on the 7/10 inquiry - and why no commission has been established to date
Three years after October 7, no state commission of inquiry or any other investigative body has been established for the massacre. Prime Minister Netanyahu, the only one among security chiefs not supporting a state commission, has repeatedly spoken in favor of an investigation but postponed it indefinitely and proposed alternative mechanisms. The article documents his statements over the years and the dispute over who will appoint the commission members.
Three years after the October 7, 2023 massacre, no state commission of inquiry or any other dedicated investigative body has been established for the events. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the only one among the political-security establishment heads who does not support a state commission of inquiry. Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, Head of Military Intelligence Aharon Haliva, Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant all supported such a commission. The article documents Netanyahu's statements over the years: in October 2023 he said "everyone will have to give answers, including me," but conditioned this on the end of the campaign. Later he postponed the examination, clarified that the decision on the investigation mechanism is solely up to the government, and proposed alternative mechanisms such as a "parity" commission or a "people's" commission with 50% coalition and 50% opposition. Netanyahu worked to delegitimize a state commission, claiming its conclusions are "known in advance" and that Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit would appoint its members. A bill to establish a state-national commission of inquiry passed its first reading but the legislative process has not been completed.