‘Smokescreen’: Bereaved families attack government-sponsored October 7 probe

As Netanyahu slated to determine scope of investigation into the failures surrounding the attack, October Council says committee’s ‘sole purpose’ is to absolve PM of responsibility

The October Council, made up of families who lost loved ones in Hamas’s onslaught of October 7, 2023, on Sunday assailed as a “smokescreen” the government’s plan to establish its own commission of inquiry into the attack, a day ahead of a ministerial meeting set to decide the scope of the panel.

According to reports in Hebrew media last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will head the ministerial team, giving him wide influence over the direction of the investigative panel proposed by his government, instead of the independent state inquiry demanded by most of the public.

A government-backed bill to establish the new type of commission of inquiry was set to be brought to a vote in the Ministerial Committee for Legislation on Sunday, to formally grant coalition support for the measure. Under the terms of that bill, the ministerial committee reportedly set to be headed by Netanyahu would set the mandate and parameters for the commission of inquiry.

Netanyahu proposed the government commission several months ago, after long rejecting a state commission of inquiry, the country’s highest investigative authority, because its make-up would be determined by the judiciary, which his government claims it does not trust and has sought to weaken through a series of controversial laws. However, as recently as 2022, Netanyahu backed a state commission of inquiry into the conduct of the previous government.

Despite it being touted as “independent,” the government commission’s mandate will be determined by cabinet ministers and Netanyahu himself, who has refused to accept responsibility for the failures that allowed the October 7 attack to take place. While government members have largely avoided accepting responsibility since the attack, almost all of the country’s military and security chiefs have resigned or been replaced, with several admitting personal responsibility for their role in the failures.

Setting the mandate of the commission will be crucial in determining how far back the investigation will go, and critics fear that the commission could paper over the impact of decisions by Netanyahu and various governments he has headed since 2009, including freeing the architect of the massacre, Yahya Sinwar, and helping prop up Hamas rule with Qatari money in exchange for calm.

‘Political whitewashing committee’

The October Council released a number of statements Sunday against the` upcoming committee meeting to decide the mandate for the government-led inquiry, saying that a “shameful political scam” will take place in the Knesset “whose sole purpose is to absolve the political leadership of its responsibility for the greatest disaster in the history of the country.”

“Look us in the eye, don’t abandon us again,” the council demanded.

“This is not a law!” said Rafi Ben Shitrit, whose son Elroi was killed in the onslaught. “It is a smokescreen and the direct continuation of the campaign of trolling, trickery and confusion.”

“The purpose of the [government’s proposed October 7 probe] is to silence criticism, hide evidence, contaminate the investigation, evade responsibility, engineer mass consciousness and obscure the significant role of the government that was in charge on the day of the massacre,” he said.

“Do you think the public will swallow this deception?” Ben Shitrit asked the government in his statement to the press.

“In this treacherous move of yours, you are desecrating the memory of the fallen,” he added, saying that the sole purpose of the government’s probe was for Netanyahu to “escape the horror of justice.”

“The ethical demand for a state commission of inquiry is not only a vital existential need for the future of future generations, but a moral obligation!” Ben-Shitrit continued. “Only a state commission of inquiry will illuminate the path forward, honor the heroism of our soldiers, and ensure that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past.”

Jon Polin, father of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was kidnapped on October 7 and murdered while in captivity, said at the press conference: “I support establishing a state commission of inquiry not to punish anyone, and not because it will bring back my only son. I support a state commission of inquiry so that nothing that happened to my son can ever happen to anyone else’s son.”

“This week is your moment of truth, not ours. We have already paid for our truth with blood,” charged Shimon Buskila, who lost his son Yarden on October 7. “On Monday, you give the mandate to blindness or courage.”

“I’m telling you here clearly: Whoever votes for a political whitewashing committee chooses to escape responsibility. Whoever votes for a committee where those who should be investigated appoint their own investigators chooses to be on the wrong side of history,” he said.

“Anyone who votes against a real investigation will bear on their conscience the fact that they prevented the truth from coming to light,” he added.

In addition to the press statements, the October Council announced a week of protests and disruptions amid the government’s efforts to establish its commission of inquiry, vowing to camp outside the homes of ministers and take to the streets across the country.

Thursday’s report that the committee to determine the probe’s mandate will be helmed by Netanyahu himself was met with swift denunciation from the opposition, which accused the premier of trying to “whitewash” his responsibility for the failures leading up to and during the attack.

The Democrats party chair Yair Golan tweeted sarcastically that Netanyahu might as well “write the verdict straight away,” and accused the prime minister of trying to shirk responsibility for his role in the October 7 failings.

“The man responsible for the greatest disaster in our history isn’t looking for answers, he’s looking for an alibi,” wrote Golan. “The mandate is clear: to whitewash the leader and cling to power by force.”

Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman tweeted a Hebrew phrase meaning “a guilty conscience gives itself away” while Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party announced that it will bring a motion to the Knesset State Control Committee on Monday to require the government to establish a state commission of inquiry.

Establishing the government’s proposed committee would be both “a blow to security” and an offense to the families of the victims of October 7, said Gantz. ”In the face of this disgrace, we will continue to insist that the failure be investigated, the lessons learned, and the truth brought to light.”

Jeremy Sharon and Sam Sokol contributed to this report.