Local councils (Hebrew plural: מוֹעָצוֹת מְקוֹמִיּוֹת, romanized: Mo'atzot Mekomiot;[1] singular: מוֹעָצָה מְקוֹמִית Mo'atza Mekomit; Arabic plural: مجالس محليّة, romanized: Majalis Mahaliyya; singular: مجلس محلّي Majlis Mahallī)[2] are one of the three types of local government found in Israel, the other two being cities and regional councils. There are 124 local councils in Israel,[3] including 69 Arab local councils.[4]
Local councils should not be confused with local committees, which are lower-level administrative entities.
Local council status is determined by passing a minimum threshold: enough to justify operations as independent municipal units, although not of a scale large enough enough to be declared a city.[5][6] In general this applies to all settlements of over 2,000 people.[6]
The Israeli Interior Minister has the authority of to decide if a locality is fit to become a municipal council (acity). The minister is then expected to listen to the wishes of the residents of the locality in question, who may wish the locality to remain a local council even after achieving the requirements for a city (e.g., Ramat HaSharon, which did not become a city until 2002 due to its residents wanting to preserve its image as a small town), or a part of a regional council despite having achieved the criteria for a local one. [5]
The Union of Local Authorities in Israel (ULAI) is the umbrella organization of local councils which represents their collective interests vis-à-vis the national government. It traces its roots to the League of National Councils, which had been established under 1938 under the British Mandate.[7]
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Administrative jurisdiction types of Israel
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