Likud MK Ariel Kallner unveiled what appeared to be the Likud party’s outline for an alternative probe into the events of October 7 on Tuesday, as part of what has been widely seen as an effort by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling party to preempt the formation of a state commission of inquiry.

According to Kallner’s plan, members of the new investigatory body would not be chosen by the president of the Supreme Court — as is the case with a state commission of inquiry — but would instead be appointed by the Knesset.

The so-called egalitarian state commission of inquiry would consist of nine members: a chairman, two legal experts “qualified to be appointed to the High Court,” two retired senior members of the security establishment, two representatives with extensive management experience in either the public or private sector, and two members representing bereaved families and the families of the hostages.

Kallner proposed that the six professional members would be chosen either by a supermajority of 80 lawmakers or, if that fails, through the coalition and opposition, each choosing three people. These professionals would, in turn, choose the two representatives of the families and the committee chairman.

Any two members would be empowered to summon any person or investigate any entity, and all discussions would be broadcast live.

The plan does not include any reference to legislation to prevent the establishment of a state commission of inquiry, which Netanyahu has long been reported to be interested in blocking legislatively.

Speaking at a conference organized by the Institute for National Security Studies on Tuesday afternoon, National Unity chairman Benny Gantz of the opposition demanded the establishment of a state commission of inquiry to probe “the fundamental question of ‘How could this have happened?’”

“The disaster that befell us is far too severe to be addressed solely through an internal military investigation. I expect this government to have the courage to at least establish a state commission of inquiry,” he said.

The prime minister has repeatedly put off the establishment of a state commission of inquiry, which is the body that enjoys the broadest powers under Israeli law, to investigate the government’s failures that enabled the deadly Hamas attacks in which some 1,200 people were killed and another 251 taken hostage, claiming that all investigations must wait until the fighting in Gaza ends.

State commissions of inquiry are typically headed by a retired Supreme Court Justice. Esther Hayut would be a potential choice for that role, given that she just recently finished her tenure as president of the top court. However, Netanyahu was reportedly vehemently opposed to her appointment, given her outspoken criticism of his government’s effort to radically overhaul the judiciary last year.

Faced with mounting pressure, he has reportedly instead been looking for several months into Knesset legislation to establish an alternate panel via a private member’s bill.

Responding to petitions to the High Court demanding that he establish a state commission of inquiry, Netanyahu said in December that the court has “no authority” to make such a ruling.

The court this week gave the government — which recently voted to postpone a decision on the formation of a commission of inquiry by three months — until May 11 to update the justices regarding its position on the matter.

An opposition bill requiring the government to establish a state commission of inquiry was defeated in the Knesset plenum by a vote of 45-53 last month.

Last March, an earlier state commission of inquiry named Netanyahu as one of several officials responsible for the 2021 Meron disaster, in which 45 people were killed in a crush at the hilltop gravesite of a second-century sage in northern Israel. The inquest did not propose sanctions for Netanyahu due to his position but said it was reasonable to assume that the prime minister had been warned that the site was dangerous.

Three months later, a separate commission investigating the so-called submarine affair sent Netanyahu a notice that he may be negatively impacted by the ongoing probe.

Netanyahu, the commission charged, made decisions that endangered national security and harmed Israel’s foreign relations.

An independent commission of inquiry into October 7, established by the families of the victims released its own report last November, arguing that the prime minister had consistently undermined the government’s national security decision-making process, creating a rift between Israel’s political and military leadership and leaving the country unprepared for Hamas’s devastating incursion.