Call for ‘independent’ inquiry removed from coalition bill establishing Oct. 7 probe |
A clause calling for a “full, thorough and independent” investigation of the state’s failures on and leading up to Hamas’s assault on October 7, 2023, has been removed from a controversial Likud bill aimed at establishing a politically appointed probe into the matter.
Instead, a copy of MK Ariel Kallner’s bill shared with lawmakers this week stated that the commission would be established in a manner that provides “for the best response to the difficult public dispute surrounding the identity of the body that appoints the committee members, by appointment by consensus or in an equal manner between both sides in the Knesset.”
Asked about the change, Kallner told the Ynet news site that “the words were not deleted intentionally,” blaming their deletion on a “clerical error.” However, he also apparently contradicted that statement, saying the new phrasing was “intended to clarify the purpose, which is to provide a response to the public controversy.”
The legislation, which passed its preliminary reading in December, is intended to establish a politically-appointed commission rather than an independent state commission of inquiry and has been strongly criticized by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who said last year that it was “tailor-made” for the “personal” needs of the government.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected such a state commission of inquiry because its members are selected by the judiciary, which he claims is biased against him — despite polling showing that most Israelis support a state commission of inquiry. Netanyahu’s government has engaged in a years-long effort to weaken the court system.
The October 7, 2023, surprise attack saw thousands of Hamas-led terrorists cross into Israel from Gaza, killing some 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and taking another 251 hostages.
In addition to the removal of the clause calling for an “independent” investigation, the latest version of the legislation also calls to........