Israel’s Netanyahu seeks to obstruct formation of inquiry committee into Oct. 7 events: Report

By Mohamed Hamed

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to hinder the appointment of members of an inquiry commission into the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, Haaretz newspaper said on Sunday.

“Netanyahu seeks to withdraw the powers to appoint the committee members from the president of Israel’s Supreme Court,” Haaretz said.

"Netanyahu does not want a judge to head the investigation committee into the events of Oct. 7,” it added.

Netanyahu’s national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said early Sunday that the inquiry committee would aim to end the right-wing rule in Israel, according to Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

The newspaper, citing an official in Netanyahu’s office, said the Israeli premier “does not trust judges, fearing that they will retaliate against him because of legal reform,” which had triggered months of protests in Israel.

On April 26, Israeli War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz proposed the formation of a state commission of inquiry into the Oct. 7 events and the subsequent Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

More than 36,400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a deadly Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip since last Oct. 7 following a Hamas attack. The majority of those killed have been women and children, with over 82,600 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid Israel's crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi