To secure a better grasp on the extent and breadth of the failures of October 7, State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman and his team announced on Monday that they seek to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former defense minister Yoav Gallant, former IDF chiefs of staff Herzi Halevi and Aviv Kohavi, and other military officials from the rank of brigadier-general and above.
They would also like to meet with former Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief Ronen Bar and “S.,” who has been filling in for him since he resigned, and a legal storm has been raging regarding his replacement.
Englman noted that personal responsibility would be delegated to each of the relevant individuals, and that when a state commission of inquiry (SCI) is established, his office would match up its framework to meet it.
These efforts come after the comptroller’s team combed through thousands of documents and interviewed dozens of sources in the diplomatic and security echelons on the matter.
Requests for meetings have already been sent out and scheduled, while the rest are expected to follow within the next few days. As part of the inquiries, the comptroller’s team included a series of in-depth questions to be used for preparation, which, given the sensitivity of the investigation, were classified as “top-secret.”
A draft list of topics sent to the prime minister include: the inaccurate security outlook and how it affected military operations; the physical protection of the Gaza border area since October 7; the treatment of civilian deaths on October 7; the arrests, releases, and criminal proceedings against Palestinian security prisoners since the outbreak of the war; Israel’s public relations campaign in the international arena; government treatment of evacuees and their absorption; the activities of the socioeconomic cabinet during the war; civilian operations on the part of the government, in general; general preparation for war and its management; emergency preparation specifically in the realm of energy; the state of agriculture during the war; and, the preparations on the cyber front.
Some of the broader topics include the management of the security cabinet, the financial fight against terrorist operations, the protection of the border with Gaza, the different incidents that broke out with the massacre itself, the state of intelligence, and other essential issues surrounding the failures of October 7.
Probing the October 7 massacre
The comptroller’s probes into the October 7 failures began in January 2024. Englman noted on Monday that the investigations into the IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) were held up for about 15 months, due to the nonstop war operations and the legal issues pertaining to the Shin Bet. “At this time, the comptroller is continuing on the diplomatic and civilian front,” said Englman.
When Zamir began his service as chief of staff in March, a framework for probing the IDF and Shin Bet was established, which was backed up by a High Court of Justice ruling from April.
An SCI is a public committee established by the Knesset, usually by the authority of the Knesset’s Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee, after it has been green-lit by the government. Its chief purpose is to restore public faith in the government, which is also why it is usually all public.
The Supreme Court president makes the appointments and is considered the highest objective authority on an issue demanding such a probe; once the government establishes the committee, it cannot have any further involvement with it.
The other way to open an SCI is by the direction of the state comptroller, who can order its establishment to the Knesset’s State Control Committee. This method has been used less in Israel’s history; since the law was passed in 1968, permitting the creation of SCIs, 16 were created by the government, while four came from the state comptroller. This is one possible method to launch an SCI with more prompting from the state comptroller.
“The October 7 massacre was the worst failure in Israel’s history – and all of the different official leadership capacities share in that responsibility and blame,” said Englman. “As of now, my office is the only one probing this failure at all of its levels.
“Our only obligation is to the citizens who are worthy of true and real answers on the failure that led to the massacre. Attacks by those who wish to avoid scrutiny will not deter us from our mission.”
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.