Protesters gathered at the Knesset on Monday to demand the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the Hamas-led invasion on October 7, 2023, and to protest the politically appointed commission that was being debated at the same time by the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.

Last month, the coalition voted in favor of a preliminary reading of Likud MK Ariel Kallner’s divisive bill to set up a politically appointed probe instead of an independent state commission of inquiry, in a move largely opposed by hostages’ families and the relatives of those murdered on October 7.

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. He has claimed that, because a state commission is appointed by the judiciary – whose powers his government has sought to curb – it would be biased.

The Constitution Committee debate was largely boycotted by bereaved families and opposition lawmakers.

Instead, they joined dozens of protesters at a number of locations in and near the Knesset, including in another committee room where over 100 bereaved family members, joined by opposition leaders and lawmakers, held an emergency session and established an “alternative committee” in protest.

During the alternative committee session, the October Council, which represents hundreds of bereaved families and which organized the event, announced the establishment of a “Committee for Advancing the Law on a State Commission of Inquiry” into October 7.

“In a fair world, the Knesset should have voted months ago to establish a state commission of inquiry. Instead, members of the ‘government of failure’ are currently debating the promotion of the cover-up committee law, aimed at burying the truth about........

© The Times of Israel