Government minister Benny Gantz, who heads the National Unity Party, submitted to the government secretariat on Sunday morning a proposal to establish a state commission of inquiry into the events of October 7 and the Iron Swords War. According to his proposal, the commission will investigate all the events that led up to the war, the decision-making at the political and military levels, as well as the conduct of all echelons during the war itself.
Gantz announced three days ago that he intended to submit the proposal, shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly contradicted the IDF, following the military confirming that Netanyahu had received four warnings from the IDF in the months leading up to the massacre. The IDF confirmed that the warning letters were sent to the prime minister in the months between March and July 2023, and that as early as last July, Netanyahu was warned of the weakening of Israeli deterrence following the fatal damage to social cohesion in Israel.
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Government minister Benny Gantz, a member of the war cabinet, called for a state commission of inquiry into October 7 and the events surroun
(Photo: GPO)
Political sources believe that Gantz's proposal, as well as the call last week for the return of the residents of the north to their homes, is part of his preparation for leaving the government. However, currently it does not appear that Gantz will resign before the deadline he set for Netanyahu, June 8, to set out a postwar plan for Gaza.
The proposal states that "more than seven months have passed since the outbreak of the war, the State of Israel is still in a multi-front war that includes extensive mobilization of reserves and many citizens being removed from their homes." In addition, it claims that "these days there is a clear political value that in Israel there are independent and professional systems capable of reaching the truth in the various issues related to the management of the military campaign at the military and political level."
"Establishing a state commission of inquiry will convey an important and unifying message to the Israeli public that all government and security systems, and those at their head, are committed to an in-depth, objective and professional examination, which seeks to begin the process of national healing, restoring public trust and strengthening national resilience," according to the proposal.
According to Gantz's proposal, the committee will appoint five members and be allocated a one-time budget of 15 million shekels. The position of the legal counsel of the Prime Minister's Office has not yet been provided, and therefore was not attached to the proposal.
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They will all be investigated: Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy
(Photos: Motti Kimchi, Amit Shavi, Shilo Shalom)
In the letters themselves, whose existence was reported in Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth as early as last July, Netanyahu was warned of the weakening of Israeli deterrence following the terrible damage to social cohesion in Israel, including threats by thousands of IDF soldiers that they would not show up for duty. According to the IDF's analysis, enemies like Iran and Hezbollah divided the Israeli deterrence into four areas, and all of them were weakened: the strength of the IDF; the alliance with the Americans; a strong economy; and high internal cohesion.
The Prime Minister's Office responded in a statement that: "Not only was there no warning of any kind about a Hamas intention to attack Israel from Gaza, but a completely opposite assessment was provided."
A state investigation committee is an independent body established for the purpose of investigating a specific matter and drawing conclusions. It is entitled to make recommendations on a matter of public importance. It has a quasi-legal nature and therefore carries a lot of weight.