Sa’ar said to advocate for establishing state commission into Oct. 7; PM opposed, says war isn’t over

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar reportedly tells a cabinet meeting that he is in favor of establishing a state commission of inquiry into the failures surrounding the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror onslaught, thereby adopting a position opposed by a majority of ministers.

The meeting to discuss the establishment of a state commission is being held purely to comply with the High Court of Justice, as it ruled in December 2024 that a hearing on the matter must be held within 60 days.

Netanyahu, who has repeatedly ruled out the possibility of establishing an inquiry before the end of the war, is said to have told the cabinet meeting this evening that his position has not changed, as “it’s not possible to say that the war is over.”

“There are still many challenges ahead of us,” he told the cabinet, according to Ynet. “It’s not feasible to enter into a situation in which all the relevant officials are busy with their lawyers, instead of meeting the great challenges that are facing the State of Israel.”

With most of the ministers said to be in agreement with Netanyahu on the matter, Sa’ar reportedly backed the establishment of a state inquiry and offered a proposal intended to appease the ministers who are opposed to the idea of incoming Supreme Court President Isaac Amit being in charge of the panel’s makeup, given that some of them have already said they will refuse to recognize his authority.

Instead, Sa’ar suggests that a former supreme court president of the cabinet’s choosing could pick the members of the committee.

He is also said to have rejected Netanyahu’s claim that it is not yet the right time to establish a state commission, and said that unless the commission is planning to probe the entirety of the war, and not just the events leading up to October 7, 2023, there is no reason not to establish it in the immediate future.