Netanyahu said seeking to defang eventual commission of inquiry into Oct. 7 failures

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly planning to thwart the eventual formation of a full-on state commission of inquiry into the failures before and during the October 7 Hamas onslaught, searching for ways to circumvent what he views as a threat to his continued leadership.

The Walla news site reports that as pressure mounts to form such a commission — which the premier contends should not be formed while the war in Gaza is ongoing — Netanyahu’s associates are mulling alternatives that would cause the makeup of the commission to be more acceptable to him.

Current law stipulates that the Supreme Court chief justice appoints the members of state commissions of inquiry — a role currently filled by Justice Uzi Vogelman in an acting capacity, as a judge-appointing panel has been refusing to appoint a permanent chief for many months.

Vogelman is seen by Netanyahu as an adversary who would likely tap predecessor Esther Hayut to head the commission, in what would be “a disaster” for the prime minister, Walla reported in May.

Without citing sources, Walla now reports that Netanyahu’s office is weighing several options for improving his standing after the war, including passing legislation enabling a “special state commission of inquiry,” with the same powers, whose members are picked by a “broad agreement” of 80 Knesset members, rather than by the Supreme Court chief.

Another option said to be on the table is calling a referendum to choose the commission’s members.

The report says that in any case, Netanyahu is seeking to postpone the commission’s formation until at least after the next election.