High Court rejects petition to halt state comptroller probe into October 7 failings

Jeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter

State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman at the Federation of Local Authorities conference in Tel Aviv, December 7, 2022. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)
State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman at the Federation of Local Authorities conference in Tel Aviv, December 7, 2022. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

The High Court of Justice decides not to issue a temporary order prohibiting State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman from proceeding with his investigation of the multiple failings of October 7.

The Movement for Quality Government in Israel filed a petition to the court in February asking that it order the state comptroller to freeze his investigation until after the war, arguing it would harm the war effort by distracting IDF commanders from managing the current war, and interfere with a future state commission of enquiry into the military, intelligence, and policy disaster of the Hamas attack.

High Court Justice Gila Canfy-Steinitz tells the State Comptroller’s Office, the IDF chief of staff, and the head of the Shin Bet to respond to the petition by June 8.

“I did not see [a reason], at this stage, to provide temporary relief,” she says of the request to have the state comptroller halt his probe.

Canfy-Steinitz does, however, tell the IDF chief of staff and the head of the Shin Bet to provide the state comptroller with the classified information that they have said demonstrates that the investigation requested by Englman would harm state security, by May 20.

Said Englman’s office in response: “The state comptroller expects that the chief of staff and all other officials under review to instruct their people to fulfill the obligation incumbent upon them under Basic Law: The State Comptroller and cooperate fully with the representatives of the State Comptroller’s Office, just as other security agencies have done.”

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