From the Liveblog of
Monday, October 5, 2026
People of Israel party proposes October 7 inquiry, says coalition and opposition share blame
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAriela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.
Ofer Winter’s right-wing People of Israel party is proposing a special commission to investigate the failures surrounding the October 7, 2023, attacks, arguing that the fact that no inquiry has been established is “a shared disgrace for the coalition and the opposition.”
The party claims both sides have an interest in preventing an inquiry because “they were part of the failure” — a striking charge that somehow puts opposition parties on the same footing as the government that was in power on October 7.
Under the plan, after the October 27 election, the new Knesset would choose the commission’s chair and deputy from a list of retired judges proposed by lawmakers. The two candidates who receive the most votes would fill the posts, giving the coalition and opposition a representative each. The party says the mechanism would ensure the inquiry is “not controlled by the government” and would not let “any single actor prevent the truth from being established.”
Bereaved families, hostage representatives, and others directly affected would take an active part in the inquiry.
The prospect of a full investigation into the attack has become a political flashpoint in the last three years, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refusing to approve a state commission of inquiry, the country’s highest investigative authority. Winter has said he will join a government only under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and ruled out serving in one led by the opposition parties.
The Times of Israel Community.