The High Court of Justice has given the government until July 1 to establish a framework for the public inquiry into the events of October 7, in a ruling issued on Monday following a hearing last week.
“We find ourselves today, more than two and a half years after the grave disaster that befell the entire country on October 7, 2023, and no appropriate mechanism has yet been established by the government to investigate the events of the disaster and draw the necessary lessons to prevent its recurrence,” reads the ruling.
“This situation is unacceptable and raises significant legal difficulties,” the justices added.
The government must submit a progress update to the court by July 1, after which the bench will decide on the next steps in the case.
Attorney Michael Rabello, representing the government, argued that the court lacked the authority to compel the establishment of a state commission of inquiry.
“The main thing right now is that the State of Israel wins the fighting on all fronts,” added Rabello.
The main question for several justices was whether the court should force the current government’s hand – or wait until after the elections and leave the matter to the next government and the public.
The issue has split the general public – chief among them some bereaved family members – who have found themselves on opposite sides of the aisle: Those who don’t trust Supreme Court President Isaac Amit who would be charged with appointing the committee’s members, and those that place the urgency of the matter and the passage of time since the massacre at a higher priority.
The latter position is that of the petitioners, as well as of Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, who have argued that a state commission of inquiry is the only appropriate framework for investigating October 7.
The government’s approach is that any commission that is formed should be “grounded in broad consensus” among the public.
The public discourse context of the issue is the long-standing tensions between the judiciary and the government and parliament, which manifested in the coalition’s 2022 judicial reform legislation, and led to a societal split.
Deputy Supreme Court President Noam Sohlberg said on Thursday that there were “very heavy costs” associated with a judicial order requiring a state commission of inquiry, asking whether it might be better for the government to form the commission after the election.
Justice Yael Willner had suggested the matter be left to “the public” at the ballot box, while Justice Ofer Grosskopf asked why the decision should not be left to voters.
Source:
www.jpost.com
