The government has formally argued that the High Court of Justice does not have the authority to compel the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, onslaught, asserting that Israeli law grants that power exclusively to the government itself.
In a response filed to petitions seeking a court order mandating a state commission of inquiry into the failures surrounding the October 7 catastrophe, the government contends that the 1969 Law for Commissions of Inquiry clearly assigns the authority to establish such inquiries solely to the government — and not to the courts or any other body.
The filing was submitted in response to petitions brought before the High Court of Justice, which has been asked by petitioners to intervene and require the government to launch Israel’s highest-level investigative mechanism into the events surrounding the invasion and massacres carried out by Hamas on October 7.
As part of its argument, the government cited a 2021 High Court ruling to bolster its position. That earlier decision related to petitions requesting that the court order the government to establish a state commission of inquiry into the so-called Submarine Affair — a major corruption scandal involving allegations of bribery tied to Israel’s multibillion-shekel procurement of naval vessels from German shipbuilder Thyssenkrupp. In that case, the High Court declined to compel the government to form a commission.
On November 19, the High Court issued a conditional order demanding that the government explain why it has not yet established a state commission of inquiry into the October 7 events. Such commissions are widely regarded as Israel’s most powerful investigative bodies, with broad subpoena powers and public legitimacy.
The government’s response maintains that while the court may review the legality of government decisions, it cannot override explicit statutory authority that reserves the creation of state commissions of inquiry to the executive branch.
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