Local council (Israel)
Encyclopedia
Local councils are one of the three types of local government
Local government
Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...

 found in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

, with the other two being cities and regional councils
Regional council (Israel)
Regional councils are one of the three types of local government entities found in Israel, with the other two being cities and local councils. As of 2003, there were 53 regional councils in Israel, usually responsible for governing a number of settlements spread across rural areas...

. As of 2003, there were 144 local councils in Israel, these being settlements which pass a minimum threshold enough to justify their operations as independent municipal units, although not large enough to be declared a city. In general this applies to all settlements of over 2,000 people, apart from extreme cases where kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...

es exceed this number.

The Israeli Interior Minister has the authority of deciding whether a locality is fit to become a local municipality (a city
City council (Israel)
A City council is the official designation of a city within Israel's system of local government.City council status may be granted by the Interior Minister to a municipality, usually a local council, whose population surpasses 20,000 and whose character is urban, defined as having areas zoned for...

). The minister is 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
Ramat Hasharon
Ramat HaSharon is a city located on Israel's central coastal strip in the south of the Sharon region, bordering Tel Aviv to the south and Herzliya and Kibbutz Glil Yam to the north. It is part of the Tel Aviv District, within Gush Dan metropolitan area...

, 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 an regional council
Regional council (Israel)
Regional councils are one of the three types of local government entities found in Israel, with the other two being cities and local councils. As of 2003, there were 53 regional councils in Israel, usually responsible for governing a number of settlements spread across rural areas...

despite having achieved the criteria for a local one. Local councils also have an important role in town planning.
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