A special state commission investigating the events of the October 7 massacre, formed of a balanced representation between the coalition and opposition, is the correct way to learn what happened, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed on Monday.
"I am convinced: a special state commission of inquiry, a commission balanced between opposition and coalition, is the right way to ascertain the truth," he said.
The commission "will be composed of experts in security, academia, law, and also bereaved parents who will serve as observers," Netanyahu added, denying that politicians will be members of the commission.
"The government could have established a governmental examination commission, composed entirely of the coalition. But I believed such a commission would have won the trust of only part of the public," he added.
"To the same extent, a commission of inquiry whose composition would be determined exclusively by Supreme Court President Isaac Amit, as the opposition proposes, would also only receive trust from a small part of the public," he continued.
"This will be a balanced commission of inquiry. No side will have any advantage in appointing the members of the commission," he said, adding that "an unprecedented event like October 7 requires a special commission of inquiry - a broad national commission."
"The mandate of the commission and the boundaries of the investigation will be determined by the government," he continued, affirming that this is "not new, not special - this is how it is done in all commissions of inquiry of any kind."
"I promise you, all issues will be examined, without exception - the political, security, intelligence, legal - everything!" he added.
Israel advances political probe into October 7, gov't committee to outline probe limits
The Ministerial Committee for Legislation approved on Monday morning a bill proposal by Likud MK Ariel Kellner to establish a political commission of inquiry into the October 7 failures.
The approval came just hours before a ministerial committee, headed by Netanyahu, met for the first time to settle the outline of the authority and coverage of such a commission. The bill proposal will be brought to an initial Knesset vote on Wednesday; under it, the government would have complete control over the topics being investigated - including the judiciary.
Under the bill's proposal, six members would be appointed to the committee “by widespread agreement” between the coalition and the opposition, with a special majority of 80 votes in the Knesset (a simple majority is 61).
The opposition, as a whole, has already announced that it would take no part in the formation of such a committee - one that isn’t a state commission of inquiry. If no agreement is reached on the appointments, the bill states they would be decided by Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana (Likud).
In a separate committee meeting on Monday, the coalition blocked a proposal by Blue and White MK Alon Schuster to establish a state commission of inquiry. The vote was five-to-four.
Sarah Ben-Nun contributed to this report.