In shift away from state commission, new IDF chief said to back comptroller probe of army

New IDF chief of staff Eyal Zamir has okayed the transfer of sensitive documents about the army’s conduct around October 7 to the State Comptroller, marking a sharp shift from his predecessor, Haaretz reports.

According to the report, the documents had been intended for use by an eventual state commission of inquiry, which many have demanded be formed to probe all aspects of Israel’s failures surrounding the surprise Hamas attack, though the government has refused to appoint one while the war is ongoing.

Former IDF chief Herzi Halevi had avoided cooperating with the ombudsman, also citing the ongoing war, and was thought to back a state commission.

A source familiar with Zamir’s thinking is quoted telling the paper that “he is ambivalent toward [a state inquest] and it seems that from his perspective the comptroller’s probe can suffice.”

The report claims that Zamir and State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman met several times in recent days and agreed to a probe by the ombudsman that will cover the army’s conduct leading up to the attack and also look into the intelligence and operations branches as well as the army’s Southern Command.

Critics say a fully independent state commission is required to delve into a catastrophe of the magnitude of October 7 and the ensuing war and hostage crisis, but political leaders with the power to appoint one are thought to fear being blamed as part of its conclusions.

The army recently began publishing the results of an internal probe it conducted, though Englman criticized the effort as lacking credibility due to a lack of independence.