State Comptroller Says Senior Officers Tried to Remove Accountability Section from Oct. 7 Inquiries

Outgoing State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman said Wednesday at the Local Government Center’s MUNI EXPO 2026 conference that senior figures in the military asked him to remove the accountability chapter from the investigations into the October 7 attacks. He said he refused, adding, “We must take responsibility.”

Englman said the public deserves answers about October 7 and asked, “Who is afraid of the truth?” He argued that the failures were matters of life and death, that the inquiry must assign responsibility across all levels, and that he is obligated to Israel’s citizens. He also said that, based on the State Comptroller’s report, a state commission of inquiry could be established, and noted that lawmakers still have not done so more than three years after the attack.

He specifically pointed to the families of people killed at the Nova festival, asking why Israel Defense Forces forces had not reached the event by 10:30 a.m. on the day of the massacre. His remarks came as reports circulated about a possible deal between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Haredi parties involving a bill on Torah study, immunity from arrest for draft evaders, a political inquiry law on October 7, and a bill splitting the attorney general’s role.

Ahead of the 1,000th day since the October 7 massacre, October Council, which represents survivors, Gaza-border residents, bereaved families, families of hostages who were murdered, and families of the fallen, announced an Israeli national memorial day with ceremonies, displays, protests, convoys, a nationwide minute of silence, and a central rally. The group called on Englman to explicitly demand the immediate creation of a state commission of inquiry.