From the Liveblog of
Sunday, December 31, 2023
Cabinet votes to postpone nationwide municipal elections until February 27
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
The cabinet votes unanimously to postpone the nationwide municipal elections scheduled for the end of January until February 27, 2024.
The municipal elections were originally scheduled for October 31 but were postponed in light of the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, which erupted on October 7. That day, some 3,000 Hamas terrorists burst through the border, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping over 240, mostly civilians.
“We usually do not hold elections in wartime but these elections have been determined in advance.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says during the cabinet meeting.
“They have already been postponed once. While it would be very difficult to postpone them for a very long period, there are two possibilities: Hold them at the end of January or the end of February. To this end, we have requested an IDF assessment of how many people who will still be on active duty at the end of January are involved [in running for office].
“The number that has reached us is around 700… My recommendation is clear: To do this at the end of February, in order to enable as many reservists as possible to participate in the elections. This is an elementary and important right.”
Earlier this month, the Religious Zionism party called for a further month-long postponement of the local elections, a call that was also backed by other coalition partners. After delaying a decision on the matter last week, Netanyahu’s office announced that the cabinet had asked the Israel Defense Forces to provide it with information on which of the 2,189 candidates currently serving in the reserves “cannot be discharged, and a breakdown of the local authorities in which there are candidates who cannot be discharged.”
On Friday, the army informed the cabinet that 688 reservists who are candidates in the January elections would “most likely” not be able to be released from duty to run for office. The hundreds of reservists whose roles in the army were deemed crucial represented 144 municipalities, the IDF noted.
