President Isaac Herzog opposed the coalition’s planned commission of inquiry to investigate the failures that led to the October 7 massacre, demanding that the state conducts an in-depth investigation instead, Israeli media reported on Tuesday.
“The terrible disaster of October 7, and the failure that led to it, must be investigated in-depth and in a national manner,” Herzog said during a Torah study held to mark the fast of the 10th of Tevet, Ynet reported.
Herzog also demanded that the committee would “not include political elements as members, as it could significantly harm this important process and trust in it,” the report noted.
Likud MK demands Herzog's neutrality
Likud MK Ariel Kallner addressed Herzog’s comments, demanding that he is “supposed to be the president of the entire nation, without exception.”
Kallner, who was the one responsible for submitting the bill to establish a politically appointed commission, criticized Herzog’s decision to take a stance on the matter.
“You know that, among the thousands of bereaved families, the families of the kidnapped, the wounded, the reservists, and other residents of Israel, there are huge parts that will not trust the so-called ‘state’ committee, to which Judge Isaac Amit appoints all its members,” he said in a statement.
He asserted that the coalition’s proposal would allow for “everyone to be investigated. No one will be given immunity, and there will not be one person who can decide for everyone who will be investigated and who will not.”
“You are everyone’s president, and with all due respect, you must also behave like this!” he said.
Coalition pushes for politically appointed commission
Herzog’s comments come as the government’s coalition pushed last week to approve a bill establishing a politically appointed commission of inquiry into the failures surrounding October 7.
Bereaved families and relatives of former hostages protested the move, warning it would undermine accountability and public trust.
The bill passed its first reading after a tense plenum debate marked by shouted interruptions and symbolic protests.
Under the proposed framework, the commission would be established outside the traditional state commission of inquiry mechanism outlined in the 1968 Commissions of Inquiry Law, under which the chief justice of the Supreme Court appoints the panel.
In its place, a Knesset-appointed commission would be established, comprising six members. Lawmakers would be given a limited period to reach a supermajority agreement on all appointments. If no agreement was reached, the coalition and opposition would each appoint three members, with the Knesset speaker empowered to fill opposition slots if cooperation failed.
Sarah Ben-Nun and Shir Perets contributed to this report.