Local elections to be postponed by 3 months as country likely faces long war

The upcoming elections for local municipal and regional councils will be delayed by at least three months due to Israel’s escalating war with Gazan terrorists, the Interior Ministry announced Wednesday.

The last time elections were delayed was during the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

Since such a move requires legislation, not just a memorandum, the ministry said a bill will be introduced in the Knesset to postpone the vote from October 31 to January 30, 2024.

The ministry said the legislation would impose a “freeze” on local authorities, allowing incumbents to continue in their roles until the election.

The decision came as Israel faced the possibility of months of war following a devastating terror onslaught orchestrated by the Hamas terror group on Saturday morning.

Palestinian terrorists rampaged through the south of the country, killing over 1,200 people, the vast majority of them civilians, and taking at least 100 captives to Gaza.

There have also been several deadly clashes on the northern border in recent days, some of them claimed by Palestinian terror groups operating out of Hezbollah-controlled southern Lebanon, and others by Hezbollah itself.

Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.