All six opposition parties demanded on Tuesday that Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana apologize for the use of force on Monday by guards against family members of victims of October 7.
The incident occurred at the start of a plenum discussion, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in attendance, regarding the government’s refusal to form a state commission of inquiry into the massacre.
The families, members of an organization called the October Council, said they had notified Knesset authorities of their intention to observe the discussion from the visitors’ section. However, they were denied entry and a violent confrontation occurred, during which at least one bereaved father required medical treatment.
The faction heads said they were told that Ohana decided on a policy of up to 15 people at a time in the visitors’ section to “prevent violence”.
This was a “disgraceful and completely unacceptable decision” that “contradicts the fundamental essence of the Knesset as an institution that is open to all citizens and respects its guests, all the more so bereaved families,” they wrote to Ohana.
They say they were “shocked” that the Knesset guards used physical force to block their entry, and that the order came “from the speaker and director-general of the Knesset.” The incident was a “stain” on the Knesset, they wrote.
They also criticized the fact that after the families were allowed in and turned their backs to the prime minister when he began to speak, Ohana ordered them to be removed. He eventually rescinded the order.
What the opposition MKs said
“We, faction chairs of the opposition parties, insist that you publish clarifications about your orders and about the entire incident, as well as a clear apology to the bereaved families and families of hostages,” they wrote.
The signatories were MKs Merav Ben-Ari (Yesh Atid), Pnina Tameno-Shete (National Unity), Oded Forer (Yisrael Beytenu), Efrat Rayten (Labor), Waleed Taha (Ra’am), and Ahmad Tibi (Ta’al).
Following the incident on Monday, the Knesset spokesperson’s unit said Ohana instructed the Knesset director-general and the Knesset officer to conduct an investigation into the matter.
“Since the beginning of the war, the Knesset has opened its doors to the families of the hostages and the bereaved families in an unprecedented manner, and it will continue to be an open home for all citizens of Israel,” it said.