Knesset discussions on political Oct. 7 commission of inquiry to be boycotted by opposition

By Sam Sokol 18 January 2026, 10:04 am

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Sam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"

Anti-government protesters lift up placards during a demonstration against the prime minister and in support of establishing a state commission of inquiry into Hamas's October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, in Tel Aviv on November 15, 2025. (Jack GUEZ / AFP)

The leaders of the Knesset opposition declare that they will boycott all deliberations on the government-backed bill to establish a politically appointed probe into the failures of October 7 in place of a state commission of inquiry.

“All opposition faction chairmen announce that they will not take part in the Constitution Committee’s deliberations on the establishment of the cover-up committee. We will not cooperate with a cynical attempt to establish a political committee with one goal: to escape and remove responsibility from the October 7 government and from [Prime Minister] Netanyahu’s own personal failure,” the opposition parties declare in a joint statement issued by Opposition Leader Yair Lapid’s spokesman.

According to the opposition, “only a state commission of inquiry will arrive at the truth, provide answers to the difficult questions, and prevent the next disaster.”

Last month, lawmakers voted 53-48 in favor of a preliminary reading of the highly controversial bill, drawing heated protests and condemnations from opposition lawmakers and bereaved families.

Likud MK Ariel Kallner’s bill calls for a Knesset supermajority — 80 out of 120 MKs — to appoint a six-member investigative committee and its chairman. If there is no agreement after two weeks, both the opposition and coalition would be allowed to select three committee members each, who would be joined by four supervisory members representing bereaved families.

The proposal states that if either the coalition or opposition does not cooperate in the process or cannot settle on a candidate, the Knesset speaker will choose instead — giving the coalition effective control, as opposition figures have pledged to boycott the commission.

Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu has stated that the proposed alternative investigative panel will probe “the judicial system” and others who “weakened our deterrence” while Culture Minister Miki Zohar has said that “anyone who thinks a commission would conclude that the main, the only, culprit is Netanyahu is living in a dream world.”