Who runs local government in Israel?

Israel has a single tier of local government: about 255 local authorities, each with a directly elected head and council, under close supervision by the Ministry of Interior. The three types are city municipalities, smaller local councils and regional councils that group rural communities such as kibbutzim and moshavim. Arab and Druze towns elect their own councils, but often have weaker tax bases and are a focus of special government plans.

State of Israel · Unitary parliamentary republic · Western Asia

The levels of government below the nation

Level	How it is chosen	What it does
Districts (6) and sub-districts (15)	District commissioner appointed by the Ministry of Interior	Deconcentrated central government: supervises local authorities and planning; no elected body.
Municipalities (cities, about 76–80)	Mayor and council directly elected for five years; council by closed-list proportional representation	Education buildings, welfare, sanitation, local roads, planning and property tax (arnona).
Local councils (about 120–126)	Head and council directly elected	Same functions as municipalities for towns of roughly 2,000–20,000 people.
Regional councils (about 54–56)	Head directly elected; council members represent each member village; villages also elect local committees	Services for scattered rural communities (kibbutzim, moshavim, some Bedouin villages).

Three questions about local power in Israel

Are local leaders elected?

Mayors, council heads and councillors are directly elected every five years. District commissioners are appointed. Religious court judges are appointed by state bodies. Hamula elders are not elected.

Which laws set up local government?

Local authorities are set up by the Municipalities Ordinance, the Local Councils Ordinance and election laws (there is no constitutional clause on local government). Religious courts are formal. Clan reconciliation and hamula influence are informal.

Who are local leaders accountable to?

Voters can replace heads and councils. The Ministry of Interior approves local by-laws and budgets and can dismiss a failing council and appoint a committee in its place; the State Comptroller audits local authorities; courts review decisions.

Traditional and customary authority

Religious authorities have formal power over family law: marriage and divorce are handled by state-recognised religious courts (rabbinical, sharia, Druze and Christian church courts). Local religious councils, partly appointed by the municipality and partly by the Ministry of Religious Services, provide Jewish religious services such as synagogues, ritual baths and burial. In Arab and Bedouin communities, extended families (hamulas) and clan elders strongly influence local elections and run customary reconciliation (sulha) after disputes or killings; this has no legal status. Druze religious leaders (headed by a spiritual leader recognised by the state) also have standing.

Community and neighbourhood power

Kibbutzim and moshavim run their own internal assemblies and elected committees. Big cities have neighbourhood administrations and community centres (matnasim). In regional councils, each village elects a local committee (va'ad mekomi) for its own affairs.

Points to know

Local elections due in October 2023 were postponed twice because of the war in Gaza and held on 27 February 2024, with soldiers voting at army bases; turnout was about 49%. Voting in some evacuated border communities was delayed further.
Most Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem can vote in Jerusalem municipal elections as permanent residents but have largely boycotted them.
Arab local authorities receive targeted multi-year development funding (for example Government Resolution 922 of 2015) to reduce gaps with Jewish localities.
Some Bedouin villages in the Negev are not recognised by the state and therefore have no elected local authority or full municipal services.
Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank have their own municipalities and regional councils set up under military orders; most states and the UN regard the settlements as contrary to international law.

Local terms

Regional council (mo'atza azorit): A local authority covering many small rural communities.
Hamula: An extended family or clan in Arab society, often voting as a bloc in local elections.
Sulha: Customary reconciliation process led by respected elders to end a dispute.

Sources

Israel: country profile, OECD–UCLG World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investment (SNG-WOFI), checked 14 October 2026
Israel: local government profile, UN Women (Women in Local Government country profiles), checked 14 October 2026
Ministry of Interior (official site), Government of Israel (gov.il), checked 14 October 2026
Israel's Basic Laws (Constitution of 1958, rev. 2013), Constitute Project, checked 14 October 2026