Bereaved families affiliated with the October Council - a forum of relatives of victims and hostages from the October 7 Hamas-led attack advocating for a state commission of inquiry - together with protest activists, demonstrated early Wednesday morning outside the homes of senior coalition ministers and lawmakers, urging them to oppose legislation to establish an alternative inquiry into the October 7 failures.
The protests were held ahead of an expected Knesset vote on a bill that would create a political commission of inquiry - a move the families oppose, arguing that it would undermine accountability and replace an independent investigation with a politically controlled mechanism.
The legislation at the heart of Wednesday’s controversy is a private members’ bill submitted by Likud MK Ariel Kallner that would establish an alternative, politically appointed inquiry commission to investigate the failures surrounding the October 7 attack.
Under the proposal, which was approved for advancement by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation on Monday and is headed for a preliminary Knesset vote today, the commission would be composed of six members chosen through a process inside the Knesset: half appointed by coalition and half by opposition factions.
If broad agreement on membership cannot be reached, coalition members would effectively control appointments, including through intervention by the Knesset speaker.
The bill deliberately bypasses the current legal mechanism under which a state commission of inquiry would be appointed by the president of the Supreme Court, a feature that has drawn sharp opposition from legal authorities and detractors who say the new structure lacks judicial independence and could politicize the inquiry.
Demonstrators gathered outside the homes of Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and ministers Yariv Levin, Yoav Kisch, Gideon Sa’ar and Amichai Chikli, calling on them to reject what the families describe as a “cover-up commission” and to support the establishment of a state commission of inquiry instead.
A dangerous attempt to 'rewrite history'
The October Council said the legislation represents a dangerous attempt to “rewrite history” and obscure responsibility for the October 7 catastrophe, warning that an inquiry whose members are appointed by political actors would lack public legitimacy and fail to uncover the truth.
Carrying signs reading “We will not bury the truth” and “Those under investigation cannot appoint investigators,” protesters accused the government of seeking to evade responsibility rather than confront systemic failures exposed by the Hamas-led attack.
In a statement, the council said that approving the proposed law would amount to erasing accountability and dishonoring the memory of those killed. “The truth frightens only those who failed,” the group said, calling on lawmakers to vote against the bill.
The demonstrations were expected to continue later in the day near the Knesset, where the families planned to step up pressure on lawmakers ahead of the vote.