A Knesset committee has rejected proposals for a state commission of inquiry into the events of October 7.
The measure would have allowed an impartial committee to examine the circumstances around the 2023 massacres and subsequent Gaza War, including related security and political failings.
The motion was backed by members of the opposition Yesh Atid, Blue and White, and Ra'am parties.
However, it failed to pass the committee thanks to the governing coalition's two-vote majority, with committee members from Likud, Shas and United Torah Judaism voting it down.
Prime Minister Netanyahu is reported to oppose a state commission and has long declined to establish one.
It was reported in September that he was looking to change the selection process for the members of an eventual inquiry, allowing them to be appointed by the government rather than the Supreme Court.
Per Channel 12, Netanyahu is “examining” the prospect of “a governmental commission of inquiry with five members, holding the same powers as a state commission of inquiry”.
"Among those considered by Netanyahu [are] a retired judge and a retired general identified with the right,” it added.
The government has consistently resisted calls for a state commission of inquiry — first arguing that such an inquiry could not take place while Israel was at war, and later claiming, as several cabinet ministers alleged, that Supreme Court President Isaac Amit could not be trusted to appoint an impartial chair for the panel.
Channel 12 suggested that Amit was likely to appoint former Supreme Court President Esther Hayut, who has been outspoken in her criticism of the government’s judicial reforms, to lead the commission.
Following the committee vote, the October Council, which represents over 200 bereaved families, accused the coalition of "burying the truth".
"The Knesset members who voted today against establishing a state commission of inquiry see us — the bereaved families, the residents of the south, the victims of October 7 — as enemies," said the group.
"Instead of joining our fight for the truth, they repeatedly choose to fight against us and the State of Israel."
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