AG to PM: Delaying state inquiry into October 7 is harming investigation

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara tells Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the government’s ongoing delay in establishing a mechanism to investigate the failures leading up to the October 7 Hamas invasion and atrocities is harming the ability of any future investigation to uncover what went wrong.

The government has steadfastly refused to establish a state commission of inquiry into the October 7 disaster, initially claiming such an investigation could not be conducted during a war, and then arguing that a state commission, which would be led by a senior judge, would be politically biased against it.

The government has said in response to petitions to the High Court that it is examining alternatives to a state commission, but has yet to decide what form such an investigation would take.

“By default, refraining from making a decision changes the reality on the ground in an irreversible manner, and harms a future investigation and the possibility of arriving at the truth,” Baharav-Miara tells Netanyahu in a letter.

“The substantive amount of time [which has passed since October 7] leads naturally to evidentiary damage and injury to the effectiveness of any investigation that will take place, including harm to testimony that will be given.”

The attorney general also asserts that a state commission of inquiry — which by law has the power to summon witnesses, compel them to answer questions, and compel state agencies to provide the investigative materials it seeks — is the best mechanism for investigating the events surrounding the October 7 attacks.

The High Court ordered the government in December 2024 to hold a hearing on how it would investigate the October 7 catastrophe, which it did. The government has subsequently requested and received two extensions for answering how it will do so.

Today is the court’s deadline to the government to provide it with its latest update on the matter.