Day 957: Kallner October 7 Inquiry Bill Advancing Toward Late-May First Knesset Plenum Reading — 40 Days to Supreme Court July 1 Accountability Deadline; Opposition Threatens Supreme Court Challenge

On May 21, 2026 (Day 957 / Ceasefire Day 224), with 40 days remaining until Israel's Supreme Court July 1, 2026 accountability deadline, the coalition's Kallner inquiry bill — the government's proposed mechanism for investigating the October 7 intelligence failures — continued its Knesset legislative track toward a first plenum reading expected in late May 2026. The bill, sponsored by Likud MK Ariel Kallner, had advanced through the Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee on May 13 after reports revealed the revised version had quietly dropped the phrase 'full, thorough, and independent investigation' from its purpose clause. A new Likud proposal had simultaneously added a clause barring current or former Supreme Court justices from serving on the panel — a provision Israeli legal experts called unconstitutional. The committee-passed bill would establish a six-member inquiry commission with appointments requiring a Knesset supermajority of 80 MKs or, failing that, an equal coalition-opposition split. The bill had passed a preliminary Knesset reading in mid-May over fierce opposition from bereaved October 7 family organizations, the October Council, former hostages, the Attorney General (who called it 'tailor-made for the coalition's needs'), and President Herzog. The opposition Beyachad alliance of Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid — formed May 11, 2026 — pledged an independent state commission of inquiry as the first act of any alternative government, framing the October 7 accountability question as a central 2026 election issue. A JPPI poll published May 15 found 63% of Israelis support an immediate independent commission. The High Court of Justice's two-month extension, granted April 27, 2026, established July 1 as a hard constitutional deadline; the court had described the absence of any October 7 investigation after 30+ months as 'unacceptable.' Any Knesset-enacted inquiry commission would face immediate legal challenges if it does not meet the court's standard of adequacy for independence and scope.