Israelis divided over how to investigate failures leading to Oct 7

With a cease-fire in place and nearly all the hostages returned, the opposition is now shifting its focus to demanding an independent state commission to investigate who in the Netanyahu government, and the security establishment, were responsible for the massive failures that allowed Hamas to undertake the worst assault on the Jewish state in its history.

In the months after Oct. 7, Netanyahu rejected calls to launch an independent investigation, which historically has been overseen by the Supreme Court, saying it wasn’t right to do so during a war. Now, with the fighting over, and as he has faced pressure from the Supreme Court, he’s shifted his stance.

Netanyahu is agreeing to an investigation, but one that would be appointed by lawmakers, not the court, arguing that it would better represent all Israelis. He and his allies repeatedly express distrust of the courts. The prime minister himself would oversee a committee that would determine the investigation’s mandate.

Lawmakers in his coalition have argued the mandate’s scope should include not only the Hamas-led attack two years ago, but also how the 1993 Oslo Accords and the protest movement against Netanyahu’s proposed judicial overhaul contributed to the Oct. 7 massacre.

On Wednesday, the Israeli Parliament, or Knesset, narrowly passed the first of three votes required to establish Netanyahu’s proposed commission. Families who had loved ones killed or kidnapped on Oct. 7 shouted their opposition from the Knesset galleries as the bill passed. Members of the opposition tore up paper copies of the bill on the Knesset floor.

The issue is emerging as a central plank in the political opposition’s campaign against Netanyahu as the country heads into an election year. Israel must hold national elections by the end of October.

Israel’s opposition is made up of both right-wing and left-wing parties, so focusing on what his critics claim is Netanyahu’s attempt to evade responsibility for Oct. 7 could be a unifying campaign message.

Critics say Netanyahu is trying to skirt responsibility by appointing a political commission whose mandate he can determine. “That does unite the opposition," said Yaakov Katz, a senior fellow at the Jerusalem-based Jewish People Policy Institute.

Those hoping to challenge Netanyahu in the coming elections have seized on the issue.

“The moment our government is established, we will establish an impartial state commission of inquiry to investigate the failure of October 7," said former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who plans to run against Netanyahu in next year’s vote, in a post on X earlier this month.

Polls consistently show that a large majority of Israelis want to see an independent state commission. A poll released earlier this month by Channel 13, an Israeli news outlet, showed that 59% of Israelis support establishing a state commission of inquiry.

Israel has launched 20 independent commissions of inquiry. They include investigations into the failings around the Yom Kippur war in 1973, when Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack, and the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre, in which Israel was determined to have indirect responsibility for allowing Christian militia forces to kill Palestinians, during the First Lebanon War. Such commissions are led by a sitting judge, composed of leading experts, and are independent from the government. They have quasi-judicial powers, such as power of subpoena, and the ability to force witnesses to testify.

By contrast, Netanyahu’s committee would comprise members appointed by the Israeli Parliament and would have a supervision mechanism of families who lost loved ones on or after Oct. 7, some associated with the opposition and others with the coalition.

Netanyahu argues that such a committee would enjoy broader support from the public.

“An unprecedented event like the 7th of October, requires a special committee, a national broad committee that is accepted by most of the people," Netanyahu said in a statement this week. “I promise you all the subjects will be investigated—political, security, intelligence, legal. Everything."

If parliament approves it, the government’s proposed commission is likely to face legal challenges, including possible petitions against it to the Supreme Court. In November, the court issued a conditional order instructing the government to explain why it is not establishing a commission of inquiry as required by law to investigate the events of Oct. 7.

The mass-protest movement that pushed for an end to the war in Gaza brought hundreds of thousands of Israelis to the streets weekly for nearly two years largely by focusing on calls to bring the hostages home. With the cease-fire in place, some protest groups are trying to shift the focus toward the commission to bring people back to the streets. They have so far seen limited success.

Families of those killed or kidnapped are leading the protests to demand an independent investigation.

“We need answers to how did all of this happen and how do we prevent such a disaster from ever happening again," said Jon Polin, whose son, Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, was taken at a music festival and survived 328 days before his captors killed him as Israeli troops closed in. “I don’t want any other parents to have to bury their children because we didn’t learn lessons."

Write to Anat Peled at anat.peled@wsj.com