Netanyahu said to consider amendment to weaken state commissions of inquiry

The Yedioth Ahronoth daily reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is looking into an amendment to the law on state commissions of inquiry that would remove a commission’s power to issue recommendations to specific officeholders.

According to the report, which cites several unnamed individuals close to the premier, the amendment would change the law so that a probe can only issue recommendations to institutions, not people.

Netanyahu has resisted broad pressure to establish a state commission of inquiry, Israel’s most powerful investigative mechanism, into the failures surrounding the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.

Blue and White – National Unity chief Benny Gantz responds to the report. In a statement, Gantz calls the reported proposal a “transparent” effort to “escape responsibility,” and, addressing Netanyahu, says a state commission of inquiry “will be established, with or without you, now or after you.”

MK Vladimir Bialik, of Yesh Atid, says: “Netanyahu is running from a state commission of inquiry, and he knows why. We won’t allow him to soften the investigation into the failure of October 7.”