Eisenkot Reportedly Plans Special Knesset Committee for October 7 Inquiry Law

Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot is preparing a special Knesset committee to advance legislation establishing a state commission of inquiry into the October 7, 2023 massacre, according to a report published on November 5. The proposal would pursue the inquiry through legislation rather than a government resolution, as part of a wider effort to organize parliamentary work before government-formation negotiations. The reported program includes six to eight special committees intended to advance urgent laws and repeal judicial-overhaul legislation passed by the outgoing government. Eisenkot said, “We need to exercise the parliamentary majority we have in the Knesset and get to work.” The proposed committees would run alongside efforts to secure leadership of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and the Finance Committee. The plans remain proposals. The report cautions that carrying out the committees’ substantive objectives would be difficult without a government. It also describes an effort by opposition parties to replace Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana after gathering signatures from more than 61 lawmakers. An associate of Eisenkot said the bloc would choose its speaker candidate by agreement, with a decision expected by Sunday, November 8. Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett, Avigdor Liberman, Yair Golan and Yair Lapid met this week at the Dan Accadia Hotel in Herzliya, where government-formation negotiations are planned.