The expanded panel of the High Court of Justice ruled unanimously today (Monday) against the manner in which State Comptroller Matanyahu Engelman handled reports on the October 7 massacre.
An expanded panel of five judges - Dafna Barak-Erez, David Mintz, Yael Wilner, Ofer Grosskopf and Alex Stein - ruled that Engelman "exceeded his authority.".
In their ruling, the judges determined that the State Comptroller is prohibited from dealing with four of the reports and that he can deal with four, but not based on the drafts he prepared. This is because the court ruled that Engelman did not allow the auditees to respond properly.
The State Comptroller's Office responded to the ruling, claiming that since October 7, the State Comptroller has been the only "objective and independent entity" that has acted "to hold those responsible for failures at the political, military and civilian levels accountable.".
According to the State Comptroller, the ministry "acted in accordance with an audit plan that was approved only in April 2025 by a High Court ruling.".
In accordance with the High Court ruling, the ministry announced that four audits will be completed and will be made public. "As for the four additional audits, the State Comptroller's Office will cease its operations. Sadly, three years after the disaster, the citizens of the country have not yet received the answers to the difficult questions that still hang in the air regarding these audits.".
