Israel's High Court expands Oct 7 Commission of Inquiry panel to seven judges

The Israeli High Court decided to expand the panel that will consider the establishment of a state commission of inquiry to seven judges, it announced on Monday. Supreme Court President Justice Yitzhak Amit will appoint the panel.

Following the High Court’s decision to expand the panel, the government is bracing for criticism over delays in forming any commission of inquiry into the Oct. 7 massacre. Another meeting of the ministerial committee to determine the inquiry’s mandate is expected in the coming days. The committee’s findings were originally due three weeks ago, but officials now say no new submission date has been set.

The government hopes that holding the discussion will signal to the High Court that it is advancing the issue, alongside the legislation in the Knesset that began on Monday.

In Monday’s session, the only coalition members present for the entire debate on the commission of inquiry were committee chair Simcha Rothman and bill sponsor Ariel Kallner of Likud. MKs Tally Gotliv and Osher Shekalim arrived later, while the remaining coalition members opted to skip the discussion on the unpopular topic.

The Knesset held a debate Monday morning on the bill to create a “national commission of inquiry” into the Oct. 7 failure. Opposition parties decided to boycott the session, following a joint statement by opposition leaders yesterday that referred to the proposed committee as a “cover-up committee.” At the opening of the debate, several opposition Knesset members joined families from the “October Council” in a protest outside the chamber.

During the committee discussions, the coalition intends to offer the opposition a compromise on the wording of the bill, but assumes the opposition will reject it. According to a government source, recent moves – including the delay of the ministerial committee’s conclusions and the anticipated compromise proposals – are actually aimed at delaying the establishment of any commission of inquiry.

According to Kallner’s bill: “The State-National Commission of Inquiry for the Events of the October 7, 2023 Massacre,” the replacement committee would be appointed by both the coalition and the opposition. Initially, an attempt will be made to select its members with the approval of 80 Knesset members, but if no agreement is reached, the coalition would choose three members and the opposition would choose three.

If the opposition refuses to participate, as appears likely, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana would appoint the members, meaning the committee would effectively be selected entirely by the coalition.