Government tells High Court it didn’t have time to pass its Oct. 7 political inquiry bill

The government tells the High Court of Justice it should not issue a ruling on petitions asking that it order the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the October 7, 2023, catastrophe before the upcoming elections, since the issue is politically sensitive.

The government’s update says it did not succeed in passing into law its legislation for the establishment of a politically appointed inquiry into the Hamas invasion and atrocities of October 7 — which it wanted to create instead of a commission appointed by the Supreme Court — due to legislative time constraints before the Knesset was dissolved last week.

Should the court acquiesce to the government’s request, it would mean that at least three years will elapse before any form of inquiry is established into the unprecedented security and intelligence disaster of October 7.

“The way in which the [October 7] events are investigated is at the heart of a political argument between the parties standing for election,” the government tells the High Court.

“For these reasons, it is not appropriate that the court issue a ruling on this issue or intervene over it at this stage,” the update continues, adding that the government, in principle, holds that the court has no authority to order it to establish a state commission of inquiry.

The government notes that it has passed its legislation for a politically appointed inquiry in a first reading, and that it intends to approve the bill in its final readings should it be able to form a new government after the upcoming election.

Last week, the government rammed through several highly contentious pieces of legislation in the final week of the Knesset’s term, including a law freezing arrests of ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers, a law removing key powers from the attorney general, and a controversial media overhaul law.