Tension is escalating between Israel's political and military top brass over accountability for the failures behind the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused of sidestepping blame.

Weekly protests against Netanyahu's leadership of the subsequent two-year war in Gaza and demanding the return of hostages became emblematic of the anger boiling within parts of Israeli society over how the attack and its fallout have been handled.

Much of the Israeli public has been calling -- in vain -- for an independent inquiry into the events leading up to the 2023 Hamas attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people.

Polls show more than 70 percent of Israelis want a state commission of inquiry, which have been set up in the past to investigate major state-level failings.

The one established after the October 1973 Arab-Israeli war led to the resignation of prime minister Golda Meir in June 1974.

The decision to create a commission rests with the government, but its members must be appointed by the president of the supreme court.

Netanyahu's right-wing coalition government has accused the court of political bias.

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