Protests at Knesset as committee holds discussion on political Oct. 7 commission of inquiry

Protestors gather at the Knesset to demand the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the Hamas-led invasion on October 7, 2023, and to protest the proposed politically appointed commission of inquiry under discussion by the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.

Last month, the coalition voted in favor of a preliminary reading of a highly controversial bill to set up a politically appointed probe instead of an independent state commission of inquiry, in a move largely opposed by hostage families and relatives of those murdered on October 7.

A number of bereaved families hold photos of their loved ones in a silent vigil outside the room where the committee is meeting on the bill.

משפחות, מפגינים וח״כים במחאה שקטה מחוץ לוועדת החוקה שתקיים הבוקר דיון ראשון בהצעת החוק של קלנר להקמת ועדת חקירה פוליטית לטבח 7.10. pic.twitter.com/d4dthVSl3G

— דפנה ליאל (@DaphnaLiel) January 19, 2026

Outside the Knesset, protesters hold photos of hostages who were abducted alive and killed in captivity.

“For two years, members of the government have repeatedly claimed that a state commission of inquiry would be appointed at the end of the war. Now they are still evading responsibility and are trying to appoint a committee of their own, whose members they can control and whose conclusions they can steer,” says the group in a statement.

“Those who were the decision-makers and office-holders at the time of the disaster on [October 7], and throughout two years of abandonment; those who thwarted deals time and again and caused the deaths of hostages and their abandonment to torture, starvation, abuse, and the danger of disappearance, cannot continue to lead the country,” it continues.

“Senior commanders in the IDF and the security services took responsibility and resigned, but the government of massacre and abandonment refuses to accept responsibility and make way. We demand a state commission of inquiry, not a political one – an independent body that will investigate the failures and ensure that such a disaster never happens again,” the group demands.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes the formation of a state commission and has resisted pressure to do so throughout the more than two years since the deadly Hamas onslaught. Netanyahu has claimed that, because a state commission is appointed by the judiciary – whose powers his government has sought to curb – it would be biased against the government.

The opposition is boycotting all deliberations on the coalition bill to establish the committee.