High Court rules state comptroller exceeded his authority in several Oct. 7 probes

By Jeremy Sharon

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29 June 2026, 8:17 pm

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

State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman speaks at the annual Cyber Week, at Tel Aviv University, on December 9, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

The High Court of Justice rules that State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman cannot complete and publish his examinations of eight key issues relating to the failures that resulted in the October 7, 2023, Hamas invasion and massacres.

The ruling brings an end to an extended legal battle over Englman’s efforts to review the central failings behind the October 7 catastrophe, which he insisted was critical due to the lack of any other state-backed inquiry, but which critics said were not part of his remit and could prejudice a future state commission of inquiry.

The court determined that Englman exceeded the authority of the state comptroller in conducting examinations of four issues, which included Israel’s funneling of Qatari money to Hamas in Gaza prior to the attack; border defense along the Gaza border; the conduct of intelligence agencies and government officials in response to information about a possible Hamas attack; and the response of the government, Shin Bet and IDF to the October 7 attacks.

The court ruled that the state comptroller’s authority is primarily to review and compare actions of government and state agencies with prevailing norms, and not conduct investigations which aim to uncover the factual reality of an event. The court also found that the state comptroller’s authority does not extend to issues of policy and strategy regarding security and foreign affairs.

The court ruled that four other reports produced by Englman in relation to the October 7 catastrophe cannot be published in their current format, and must be conducted anew since Englman and his office failed to speak to key officials before drawing up the draft reports.

The reports in question reviewed the government’s public diplomacy efforts in the international arena; treatment of civilians killed on October 7; the permit issued to the Nova party by Kibbutz Re’im, where 378 people were murdered, and the security arrangements for it; and defense preparedness for southern cities.