Israeli Parliament Approves National Inquiry Committee on October 7 Massacre Amid Opposition Boycott

The Israeli Knesset approved in a first reading a bill to establish a national state inquiry committee to investigate the events of the October 7 massacre, the Iron Swords war, and the circumstances leading up to them. The bill, initiated by MK Ariel Kallner, passed with 59 votes in favor and no opposition or abstentions, as opposition parties boycotted the vote. The proposal now returns to the Constitution Committee for preparation for second and third readings.

According to the bill, the committee will consist of six members appointed by broad agreement of 80 Knesset members. If consensus is not reached, a mechanism will ensure equal representation with three members from the coalition and three from the opposition. The committee will also include released hostages or bereaved family members as observers, and its sessions will generally be public and broadcast to the public.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid condemned the process, calling it a "false representation" aimed at covering up the investigation into what he described as the greatest tragedy to befall the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Lapid announced the opposition's boycott of the vote and pledged that his party would establish its own state inquiry committee within the first month of the next government.

The approval marks a significant step toward a formal investigation into the October 7 attacks, though political tensions remain high, with the opposition rejecting the current process as insufficient and insincere.