Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, took a major step Monday toward establishing a commission to investigate the security and intelligence failures behind the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led massacre — but the path forward is already deeply divided along political lines.
The bill cleared its first reading by a vote of 59 to 0 in the 120-seat legislative body. No lawmakers abstained. Opposition members refused to participate in the vote, staging a boycott in protest of the proposal’s structure.
The legislation will now be sent back to the Knesset Constitution Committee for additional work before returning for its second and third readings, which are expected to occur next week. That timeline is tight, as the Knesset is scheduled to dissolve ahead of elections on July 17.
As written, the bill calls for a six-member commission. Members would ideally be chosen by a two-thirds majority vote of Knesset lawmakers. If that threshold cannot be reached, the governing coalition and the opposition would each appoint three commissioners. Final authority over the appointment process would rest with the speaker of parliament — effectively giving the ruling coalition control over who sits on the commission.
The bill also includes provisions allowing former hostages or family members who lost loved ones in the attack to attend proceedings as observers. Commission hearings would also be broadcast publicly.
Opposition parties have made clear they will not cooperate with any inquiry in which politicians select the investigators. They are pushing instead for a formal state commission of inquiry — one where members would be appointed by the president of the Supreme Court rather than by lawmakers. That court has been in ongoing conflict with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government on a number of fronts.
The parliamentary vote came just days after large demonstrations were held Thursday in Tel Aviv and elsewhere across Israel. Thousands of people gathered to mark 1,000 days since the October 7 attack and to demand the creation of a state-led, independent commission of inquiry.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. The attack set off the ongoing war in Gaza.
