Municipal strike to continue until Thursday, but schools resume tomorrow

A major municipal strike is set to continue until Thursday, but the education system will resume its normal operations throughout the country tomorrow, the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel says.

The strike includes not issuing construction permits, not convening planning committees, and freezing construction agreements with the state in high-demand areas.

The strike was called yesterday to pressure the coalition to kill its plan to pool and redistribute a portion of municipal taxes collected from commercial entities. The measure would pull funds from central and wealthier localities to the benefit of more remote and modest municipalities, billed as a way to incentivize housing in the latter.

Detractors say the proposal unfairly taxes localities that invested in building economic infrastructure, and that it will hurt their ability to provide education, social and other municipal services.