Events at the High Court of Justice devolved into chaos on Thursday after at least one individual sought to break into the courtroom, and a pro-government mob massed outside demanding access, as a hearing on petitions demanding a state commission of inquiry into the October 7, 2023, invasion and atrocities was being conducted.

Court security advised the justices to evacuate the courtroom, and proceedings were suspended for some 20 minutes.

Most High Court hearings are held with an audience present, but the court had decided on Wednesday night to bar the public, precisely due to “concerns of interruptions, disturbances, and outbursts” that would make the hearing impossible.

Some two hours into the hearing, a woman tried to force her way inside and, after she was ejected by court security, a mob of pro-government supporters converged outside the courtroom, demanding to be let in and chanting “Judge the judges.”

The attempted break-in followed ugly scenes outside the Supreme Court building as bereaved families on different sides of the political aisle engaged in mutual recriminations over who was responsible for the October 7 disaster, when invading Hamas-led terrorists killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.

The verbal battles continued inside the building and even inside the courtroom itself. Bereaved family members supportive of the government accused the court of responsibility for the Hamas invasion, after two family representatives were allowed to speak by Supreme Court Deputy President Noam Sohlberg.

During the hearing itself, the justices were highly critical of the government’s failure to appoint any form of investigative committee into the catastrophic events of October 7, and expressed astonishment when the government’s lawyer stated that a commission of inquiry could only be established after Israel is victorious on all fronts of its current wars.

Nevertheless, Solberg and Justice Yael Wilner asked the representative of the attorney general’s office pointedly if it would not be better for the court to wait until after the pending general election to make a ruling on the issue, and expressed concern over the public legitimacy of a court-ordered commission of inquiry.

“The elections are very close, and we want public trust in this committee. If we have come this far, should we leave it to the government after the elections?” asked Sohlberg.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has steadfastly refused to establish a state commission of inquiry, the only available independent public forum with investigative powers, into the October 7 disaster.

It first argued that an investigation could not begin while the country was still at war, but then later........

© The Times of Israel