The Knesset Constitution Committee on Tuesday advanced legislation establishing a politically appointed commission of inquiry into the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre, while removing a controversial provision allowing the state comptroller to fill vacant seats on the panel, but preserving the coalition’s ability to unilaterally appoint the commission.

According to the legislation, the coalition and opposition would each appoint three members of the six-member body. The Knesset opposition has pledged to boycott such a panel, calling instead for a state commission of inquiry, the country’s highest investigative authority.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected forming a state commission of inquiry because its members would be selected by the judiciary, which he claims is biased against him. Netanyahu’s government has engaged in a years-long effort to weaken the court system.

Instead, he has proposed a politically appointed inquiry into the massacre, which his opponents have vowed to boycott. Polls regularly show that most Israelis support a state commission of inquiry.

An earlier provision in the bill that would have allowed the state comptroller to fill positions left vacant by either side was removed following criticism that the mechanism would allow newly elected........

© The Times of Israel