TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — After repeated delays, the Israeli government has agreed to launch an investigation into government failures that led to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack that sparked the war in the Gaza Strip.
But questions about the independence of the investigation on Monday prompted accusations that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to avoid personal responsibility for the worst attack in Israeli history.
Israel has traditionally appointed an independent government commission of inquiry, headed by a retired judge, after major government mistakes.
Netanyahu has rejected calls for such an investigation into the Oct. 7 failures, saying only that he would answer all questions when the war is over. In his decision on Sunday, he said the ceasefire, which took effect on October 10, allows the government to begin an investigation.
His cabinet approved the creation of a simplified “government committee”. Netanyahu will oversee the composition of the team leading the investigation, effectively placing him in charge of the investigation. More details about the investigation will be announced in 45 days.
Public criticism
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called the decision an insult to the victims of October 7 and the hundreds of soldiers who died in the war.
“The government is doing everything it can to hide from the truth and avoid responsibility,” Lapid said.
The government “will create a commission that will conduct the investigation itself,” noted the Quality Movement government in Israel, which criticizes Netanyahu. “This is not a commission of investigation, this is a cover-up commission.”
In the Oct. 7 attack, Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostage. Since then, about 500 soldiers have been killed in fighting, and Palestinian health officials say more than 69,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas.
Nearly three-quarters of the population supports a fully independent commission of inquiry, according to a poll last month by the Jerusalem-based think tank Israel Democracy Institute. Even among Netanyahu's right-wing base, 68% were in favor of creating an independent commission. The poll surveyed 1,000 people and had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.
Thousands of people demonstrated Saturday night in Tel Aviv, with many calling for an independent investigation.
Netanyahu, who is on trial on corruption charges unrelated to the war, says Israel's judiciary has too much power and argues that an independent investigation would not receive “the broadest public support.”
“The only way to ensure public confidence in the work of the commission is if there is broad agreement on the composition of the commission,” he said.
Previous findings
The Israeli military and other security agencies have conducted a number of investigations into their failures on October 7.
But the new investigation will also look at the government decisions and assumptions that created the conditions for the attack.
Many security figures said Netanyahu's move to overhaul the country's judicial system, which sparked mass demonstrations and public discord before the war, sent a signal of weakness that encouraged Israel's enemies to attack. Netanyahu denies the accusations.
Many Israelis believe the mistakes of Oct. 7 went beyond military action and blame Netanyahu for what they see as a failed strategy of containment and deterrence in the years leading up to the attack. The strategy included allowing Qatar to send suitcases of money to Gaza and sidelining Hamas's rival, the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority.
An Israeli military investigation found that the main misconception was that Hamas, which seized control of the Gaza Strip from the Palestinian Authority in 2007, was more interested in ruling the territory than fighting Israel.
The investigation also found that Hamas was able to carry out the Oct. 7 attack because the more powerful Israeli army misjudged the militant group's intentions and underestimated its capabilities.
Military planners assumed that, in a worst-case scenario, Hamas could mount a ground invasion from eight border points, but as of October 7, Hamas had more than 60 attack routes.
Many high-ranking military and security officers of the time, including the chief of military staff, the head of military intelligence and the minister of defense, resigned or were forced to resign.
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