The government informed the High Court of Justice on Wednesday that it will not be able to complete its legislation to establish a political probe investigating government failings during Hamas’s October 7 massacre in 2023, citing “scheduling constraints.”
The notice came in response to High Court petitions challenging the government’s failure to establish a state commission of inquiry into the attacks.
Nearly three years after the massacre, no probe has yet been established amid an ongoing dispute over what kind of investigation should be conducted and who should lead it.
In its notice to the High Court, the government stated that it intends to complete the legislation after the elections, which are set for October 27.
The government argued that “it is not appropriate for the court to rule on the matter or intervene in it,” and therefore the petitions should be dismissed.
Government repeatedly blocks inquiry into October 7 massacre
The political echelon has repeatedly blocked a state commission of inquiry into the events surrounding the attacks, despite polls showing huge public support for this type of investigation.
Amid the ongoing rift between the government and the judiciary, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has consistently spoken out against judicial appointments being in charge of the investigation.
The government has instead advanced legislation to promote a new political investigative framework that diverges from the state commission of inquiry mechanism overseen by the Supreme Court.
The political probe bill passed its first reading in June ahead of the Knesset recess that began last week.
Under the framework laid out in Ariel Kallner’s bill proposal, Supreme Court appointments would be replaced by political members selected through a Knesset-led process.
A state commission of inquiry is considered the most authoritative and independent investigative system under Israeli law. It operates entirely outside the political echelon – with members appointed by the Supreme Court’s chief justice – and has the power to subpoena witnesses and issue personal recommendations regarding individuals.
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel (MQG) sharply criticized the government’s notice to the High Court of Justice, urging a state commission of inquiry to be established.
Government continues obstruction of state's greatest disaster
The group said that it demanded that the High Court “not allow the government to continue obstructing the investigation into the greatest disaster in the state’s history.”
“We do so on behalf of the more than 35,000 petitioners who joined us, on behalf of the bereaved families, and on behalf of the public, which has the right to know what happened in this failure and who bears responsibility.”
“We will not rest until a state commission of inquiry is established to investigate the greatest disaster in the state’s history and hold those responsible accountable,” MQG added.
The October Council, which represents bereaved family members and victims of the attacks, slammed the government’s notice to the High Court, saying that it had “revealed the truth... its sole intention was to deceive everyone and never conduct an investigation.”
“This is an unprecedented display of contempt for the court, the rule of law, and the Israeli public,” the October Council stated.
The October Council called on the High Court to respond with “the full severity of the law and to hold Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his representatives personally responsible for contempt of court.”
“The investigation, the truth, and accountability will come. No one will be able to escape them. We will make sure of that,” the group added.