Israeli Supreme Court Rules State Comptroller Exceeded Authority in October 7 War Audits

The Israeli Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the State Comptroller exceeded his authority in parts of his audit concerning the events of October 7 and the ensuing war, ordering a halt to four specific audit topics initiated by the Comptroller. The ruling addressed two petitions challenging eight audit procedures out of many related to the failures of October 7. The first petition argued that the Comptroller was not authorized to investigate four key subjects, while the second petition claimed that in four additional topics, those potentially affected by the findings were not given an early opportunity to present their positions.

The court unanimously accepted both petitions, effectively preventing the Comptroller from continuing audits on four major issues: economic warfare against terror and Gaza policy, border defense in the Gaza Strip, intelligence community and political echelon handling of Hamas plans, and the conduct of the political leadership, IDF, and Shin Bet during the October 7 events. Justice Daphne Barak-Erez, author of the main opinion, clarified that while the Comptroller has authority to audit government agencies, he cannot conduct investigations into security policy and strategy. She noted these four topics clearly exceeded his mandate and emphasized that since a state commission of inquiry was already established for the October 7 events, these matters are better examined there, though the ruling was not based on this reasoning.

Justice Ofer Groskopf concurred with the outcome but on different grounds, stating the Comptroller can address these issues but not policy questions. He argued that since a commission is needed to review all aspects of the failure, the Comptroller should not proceed with audits on the core events at this stage. For four other topics, the Israeli public diplomacy abroad, handling of civilian casualties, approval and security of the Nova party event, and preparedness for southern city defense, the Comptroller may continue auditing but must redo the process to allow full right of reply before finalizing reports. The court ruled that because the Comptroller intended to assign personal responsibility to individuals, those affected must be heard prior to draft reports, not only afterward.