The Knesset plenum approved Monday evening in a first reading a bill that would establish a political inquiry committee into the October 7 massacre, allowing the government and Knesset to shape the investigation into the disaster and the events that preceded it.
The opposition boycotted the vote, citing its firm opposition to the bill and its demand for the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the massacre. The bill passed with the support of 59 coalition lawmakers and no votes against. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not present for the vote.
The bill is being advanced as part of the deal between Netanyahu and the Haredi parties first revealed by ynet. Opposition lawmakers have refused to cooperate, arguing that the legislation is an attempt to blur or block a real investigation of the massacre through a state commission of inquiry.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said the opposition would not take part in what he called a political inquiry bill brought by the government.
“The opposition will not be part of a false display whose entire purpose is to whitewash and prevent the investigation of the greatest disaster that happened to the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” Lapid said. “In the first month of the next government, we will establish a state commission of inquiry to investigate the October 7 massacre.”
The bill was brought to a first reading so that the coalition can apply continuity law, allowing the legislative process to continue in the next Knesset. The proposal, initiated by Likud MK Ariel Kallner, calls for the establishment of a committee to investigate the October 7 massacre, the war and the circumstances that led to them. The committee’s report would be submitted to the Knesset speaker and the government.
The updated version approved in the first reading states that the state comptroller will not appoint missing members to the committee. It also allows the committee to operate with a partial composition of at least three of its six members, meaning it could function without opposition-appointed members.
The bill’s purpose clause says it is intended to enable “a full, thorough and independent investigation” of the October 7 massacre, the war and the circumstances that led to them, through a committee formed “in recognition of the public dispute over the identity of the body appointing its members” and in a manner that would allow appointments by broad agreement and in a balanced way among elected representatives.
The committee would include six Israeli citizens. A person could not be appointed if they currently serve, or served in the 18 years before October 7, in one of several senior positions, including Supreme Court justice, prime minister, minister, IDF officer with the rank of major general or higher, Shin Bet chief or deputy chief, attorney general, chief military prosecutor or Shin Bet legal adviser. At least one committee member would have to be qualified to serve as a Supreme Court justice.
Under the bill, the Knesset speaker would place the proposed committee membership, including the chairperson, on the Knesset table within 14 days of the law’s publication, after consulting as much as possible with representatives of coalition and opposition factions. The proposed membership would be brought for Knesset approval within seven days and would require the support of 80 MKs.
Likud MK Ariel Kallner
(Photo: Avigail Uzi)
If no agreement is reached, the committee members would be appointed by the chair of the Knesset House Committee and the opposition leader, with each appointing three members. One of each side’s appointees would have to be qualified to serve as a Supreme Court justice. The coalition appointments would require written approval from at least 61 coalition MKs, while the opposition appointments would require written approval from a majority of opposition MKs.
The committee members would choose a chair from among themselves within a week. If they fail to do so, the House Committee chair and the opposition leader would each appoint one committee member to serve as co-chair. The bill states that committee members must act according to their own judgment and would not be bound by the position of the body that appointed them.
The proposal also allows the committee to appoint four special-status observers from among bereaved families of war victims and representatives of released hostages. The observers would be chosen by the committee members, receive pay and expenses, and participate in discussions and consultations without voting rights. Their participation could be limited in cases involving classified materials or documents that cannot be disclosed to them.
The committee would receive the powers granted under the Commissions of Inquiry Law, and any issue not specifically addressed in the bill would be governed by the general law. Summonses for testimony and document production could be issued by any two committee members, while compelling a person to appear would require the consent of a jurist qualified to serve as a Supreme Court justice.
Committee hearings would be public and broadcast to the public, but not live. The committee would have broad discretion to set rules and limits on broadcasts and could separate the decision to hold a public hearing from the decision to broadcast it. It could also impose restrictions or hold closed hearings to protect national security, including classified IDF and Shin Bet methods, the privacy of crime victims and minors, or the safety and privacy of witnesses.