This came in Netanyahu’s response to a question from the commanders of the reserve battalions in the Israeli occupation army about the date of the formation of the investigation committee, during his participation in an operational forum held by Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, with the participation of reserve officers, according to the official Hebrew Broadcasting Authority.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas attacked Israeli military bases and settlements along the Gaza border, killing and capturing Israelis in response to "the daily crimes of the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people and their holy sites, especially the Al-Aqsa Mosque," according to the movement.
Israeli officials consider what happened on October 7 to be Israel's "biggest intelligence and military failure," which has severely damaged the image of Israel and its army in the world.
Speaking to reserve officers, Netanyahu said: "When the war is over, we will form a commission of inquiry that enjoys broad public support."
Netanyahu did not clarify what he meant by "when the war ends," despite a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas coming into effect on October 10, brokered by Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, as part of US President Donald Trump's multi-stage plan.
Netanyahu has consistently refused, citing the war, to form an official commission of inquiry appointed by the Supreme Court, and has expressed his willingness to form another commission appointed by his government, a move rejected by the opposition.
In this context, the Hebrew Channel 14 revealed the results of a new Israeli investigation confirming the failure of the Air Force in dealing with the attack of October 7, 2023.
She said, "The investigation conducted within the Air Force shortly after the attack revealed that air surveillance units detected unusual signals and movements of Hamas attack drones in the hours preceding the attack, but the information remained within the Air Force departments and was not sent to the army command or the Chief of Staff."
About two weeks ago, the broadcasting authority reported that officials close to Netanyahu were holding discussions about "the possibility of forcing the opposition to choose its representatives for an informal inquiry committee."
The commission explained that half of the committee members will be chosen from the government coalition and the other half from the opposition.
She said, "This plan is Netanyahu's favorite, and the reason it hasn't been implemented yet is because the opposition has announced that it will refuse to choose representatives."
In mid-October, the Supreme Court (Israel's highest judicial body) gave Netanyahu's government "one month" to inform it of the fate of the formation of an official commission of inquiry into the events of October 7.
This came in the court's response to a petition submitted by the "Quality of Governance" movement (civil/independent), which welcomed the decision and said in a statement, "It is important to emphasize that the biggest failure in the history of the state requires a deep and independent investigation."
On December 2, 2024, Netanyahu informed the Supreme Court that it did not have the authority to order the formation of a formal commission of inquiry into the events, in response to petitions demanding the formation of the commission.
At the time, Netanyahu said in a letter to the court: "The court does not have the authority to order the formation of an official commission of inquiry."
He added that the government is "free to decide whether to form an investigation committee, and whether it will be official or governmental," according to the Hebrew newspaper "Israel Hayom".
He noted that "only at the end of the war should the government be asked to decide what kind of committee will be formed."
Israel committed genocide in the Gaza Strip with American support, which lasted for two years starting from October 8, 2023, leaving more than 68,000 martyrs and more than 170,000 wounded, and causing destruction that affected 90% of the infrastructure in the Strip with initial losses estimated at about $70 billion.
