![Israel must continue to be able to deter Hezbollah, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar stressed on Wednesday, speaking amid efforts to reach a ceasefire with Iran's Lebanese terrorist proxy. "We need to keep the freedom to act if there will be violations. And we will have to act in time, before the problem will grow," the minister told a gathering of nearly 100 foreign ambassadors in Jerusalem, the Times of Israel reported. A deal to end more than a year of fighting on the northern border must be durable, Sa'ar said, saying Jerusalem “would like to reach an agreement that will stand the test of time." He added that a ceasefire would be an "opportunity" for Lebanon to regain its sovereignty after the Israeli military severely degraded the Iranian-backed group in recent months. He called for the Lebanese Armed Forces to be strengthened and urged the international community to invest more in the economically devastated country, which is drowning in debt following years of mismanagement and corruption. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz also emphasized on Wednesday the necessity for Jerusalem to be able to act against any Hezbollah threats that may arise after a ceasefire deal is implemented. “The condition for any political settlement in Lebanon is the preservation of the intelligence capability and the preservation of the [IDF’s] right to act and protect the citizens of Israel from Hezbollah,” Katz said. Meanwhile, U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein remained in Beirut for a second day on Wednesday to discuss "technical details" of an American ceasefire proposal with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who heads the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement. President Joe Biden's point man in the Land of the Cedars announced he would travel to Israel on Wednesday night, speaking after he made "additional progress" in a second meeting with Berri. Hochstein was scheduled to meet with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer shortly after his arrival, followed by a tête-à-tête with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the following day. “The meeting today built on the meeting yesterday, and made additional progress,” Hochstein said. “So I will travel from here in a couple hours to Israel to try to bring this to a close if we can.” The Biden envoy added that he will work with the incoming Trump administration on ceasefire efforts, saying that he has kept the president-elect's transition team informed of progress. Hochstein described as "very productive" his meetings with Lebanese officials on Tuesday. “We have a real opportunity to end the conflict, and now is the moment to decide. We are committed to doing everything we can to work with Lebanon and Israel to end this conflict,” Hochstein said at a press conference on Tuesday. Hochstein also met on Tuesday with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and he was scheduled to meet with Lebanese Armed Forces commander Gen. Joseph Aoun. Mikati emphasized that Lebanon’s primary objectives are achieving a ceasefire and safeguarding its sovereignty. He highlighted the need to implement international resolutions and bolster the Lebanese Armed Forces in the southern part of the country. Lebanon delivered its written response to the latest U.S. proposal on Monday. According to Ali Hassan Khalil, an aide to Berri, the response included “comments” that were “presented in a positive atmosphere.” He did not provide details on the nature of the comments, saying only that they “affirm the precise adherence to [U.N. Security Council] Resolution 1701 with all its provisions,” according to Reuters. Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said in a speech on Wednesday that the terrorist group had "read the ceasefire proposal. "We have our comments, and Nabih Berri has comments, and ours and the Lebanese government's comments are, Inshallah ['God willing'], identical," Qassem said. "We have decided not to discuss these ceasefire proposals or our comments in the media. All I will say is that Israeli is trying to obtain through negotiations what it couldn't through war." The terrorist leader vowed to “continue our efforts on the ground, whether the negotiations succeed or not. “We are confronting a savage enemy, and we will remain on the ground, no matter the cost, as we will also increase the cost for the enemy. We are facing Israeli human monsters supported by American human monsters,” threatened Qassem. Disarm and retreat Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War, stipulated that Hezbollah must disarm and retreat north of the Litani River, but was never enforced. The Litani lies some 20 miles from the Israel-Lebanon border. Its enforcement, along with Israeli freedom of operation in Lebanon should Hezbollah violate the terms of a ceasefire agreement, are the key sticking points in the current negotiations. Netanyahu emphasized during a speech in the Knesset plenum on Monday that Israel will not allow Hezbollah to “return to the state it was in on Oct. 6, 2023. “We will be required, in order to ensure our security in the north, to systematically carry out operations—not only against Hezbollah’s attacks, which could come. Even if there is a ceasefire, nobody can guarantee it will hold. So it’s not only our reaction, a preventive reaction, a reaction in the wake of attack but also the capacity to prevent Hezbollah from strengthening,” he said. Hezbollah has launched some 16,000 rockets, missiles and drones from Lebanon at Israel since joining the war in support of Hamas on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after the Gaza-based terrorist group’s massacre in southern Israel. More than 60,000 residents of northern Israel remain internally displaced due to the ongoing rocket and drone attacks from Lebanon. Seventy-six people in northern Israel have been killed by Hezbollah cross-border rocket, missile and drone attacks since the start of the war, including 31 soldiers and six foreign citizens, according to the latest data provided by the Prime Minister’s Office, updated on Sunday. In addition, 729 people have been wounded, including 497 civilians and 232 soldiers. Of these, 29 civilians and 37 soldiers were severely injured; 63 civilians and 38 soldiers were moderately injured and 405 civilians and 157 soldiers were lightly injured. Hezbollah’s leadership has been left in tatters following a series of targeted killings by Israel, including that of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut on Sept. 27. This was preceded by Israeli sabotage of Hezbollah communication devices that killed 39 people and wounded more than 3,400 members of the terrorist group. Israel has been waging a devastating aerial campaign against Hezbollah throughout Lebanon, including its stronghold of Dahieh south of Beirut. According to Israeli estimates, the terrorist group has lost most of its arsenal to the ongoing strikes. Then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in late October that Hezbollah had lost an estimated 80%-plus of its long-range rockets since the start of the war. Israel also continues to battle Hamas terrorists in Gaza. The terrorist group still holds 101 hostages in the Strip, 97 of whom were kidnapped on Oct. 7. Many of the captives are believed to be dead. Brazil summit Meanwhile, G20 leaders gathered in Rio de Janeiro for a summit put out a joint statement on Monday calling for “comprehensive” ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon. The leaders of the world’s biggest economies called for U.S. proposals to end fighting in Gaza and free the hostages, and one for Lebanon “that enables citizens to return safely to their homes on both sides of the Blue Line.” The 13-point U.S. proposal presented to Lebanese officials on Nov. 14 includes a 60-day truce, during which Lebanon would redeploy its troops along the border. The proposal also calls for Moscow to prevent Hezbollah from resupplying itself via Syrian land routes. Hezbollah would retreat north of the Litani River, with the border area then being under control of the Lebanese Armed Forces, overseen by the United States and Britain. Israeli officials are emphasizing, however, that the Israel Defense Forces must retain freedom of operation in Lebanon to thwart attempts by Hezbollah to violate the agreement and rearm and reestablish itself. A senior Israeli diplomatic official told Israel Hayom on Saturday that the IDF will retain operational freedom to respond to any security threats from across the northern border, regardless of any diplomatic arrangements. However, a source close to Hezbollah told The Washington Post that the group’s “condition for progress remains clear: Israel must be prohibited from conducting operations within Lebanese territory.” Berri emphasized at the time that any ceasefire agreement must not include the ability for Israel to attack by land, sea or air, Channel 12 reported. “Otherwise, what’s the purpose of an agreement?” he remarked. Another sticking point is Lebanon’s objection to the United Kingdom and Germany monitoring the implementation of U.N. Resolution 1701. Beirut reportedly favors the United States and France. If the ceasefire efforts fail, there are plans in the works to expand ground operations in Lebanon, an Israeli military official told the Post. Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer discussed the proposal with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump during a visit to his Florida estate earlier this month, as well as with senior Biden administration officials in Washington. Dermer also traveled to Russia to discuss the ceasefire proposal. Tehran is telling its Lebanese terrorist proxy Hezbollah that it supports ending the war against Israel, The New York Times reported over the weekend. Ali Larijani, senior adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, met with senior Lebanese officials in Beirut on Nov. 15 to discuss the matter. Two Iranians affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps told the Times that Larijani conveyed messages to Hezbollah from Khamenei that he supported the end of the war and that the regime would assist with rebuilding the terrorist group’s forces and recovering from the war.](https://jewishwebsite.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Gideon-Saar-1320x880-2-218x150.jpg "Sa’ar: Israel must be free to act against Hezbollah truce violations")
With nationwide municipal elections rapidly approaching, Israelis, from soldiers on the front lines to evacuees from the north and south, are facing daunting and unprecedented logistical challenges.
Here is a comprehensive guide to the Israeli Municipal Elections 2024.
When is election day?
After several postponements (the elections were initially scheduled for Oct. 31, 2023), most Israelis will choose their local leadership on Tuesday, Feb. 27. Should another round of voting be needed, due to a race being too close to call or to no candidate receiving a majority of the vote, a second round will take place on March 12.
Evacuees, however, will not be voting. The Knesset’s Internal Affairs Committee decided on Wednesday that nine regional municipalities whose residents were evacuated as a result of the war will cast their votes on Nov. 19, 2024, more than a year after the originally scheduled election.
Among the regional councils affected by the evacuations are Eshkol, Upper Galilee, Ashkelon Coast, Mevo’ot HaHermon, Mateh Asher, Ma’ale Yosef, Merom HaGalil, Sdot Negev, Sha’ar HaNegev, Shlomi and in the cities of Kiryat Shmona and Sderot.
In Metula and Kfar Ghajar, which were also evacuated, there is only one candidate for the head of the local council, each of whom leads the only party list in the running, so there is no need for an election.
Voting eligibility
On Feb. 27, some 7,190,584 residents in 241 municipalities and regional councils will have the opportunity to vote. There will be two separate ballots, one for the head of the municipality and the other for the party list whose members are running for council seats. In some cases, if there is only one candidate for the head of the council, elections will only be held for the parties that make up the council. A complete list of candidates, both for heads of municipalities as well as the lists running for local councils, can be found on the government website in Hebrew and Arabic.
Anyone 17 years of age on or before election day and who is on the voters’ register can participate in the elections for local municipalities and regional councils. The voters’ register closes every year 47 days before election day.
In addition to citizens, anyone with “permanent resident” status is also entitled to participate in the elections for local municipalities and regional councils. These are people who live in Israel permanently, center their lives in Israel and hold a permanent residency permit. Although they can participate in local elections, permanent residents cannot be elected as members of the council or lead it.
Voting process
Every resident who arrives at a polling station will receive two envelopes from the station’s secretary—one white and one yellow. In the voting booth, voters will need to choose two slips—one yellow, with the name of their choice for the head of the municipality or regional council, and one white, with the letters of the party list of their choosing.
Israelis will get the day off work on Feb. 27, on the condition that they have worked for at least 14 consecutive days for the same employer prior to that date.
However, some companies in the service industry, including transportation and catering, will operate as usual on election day; workers in these fields will not receive a day off, and will instead be entitled to a salary at the rate of 200% or additional leave hours.
Where to vote?
A voter notice specifying the relevant polling station location was sent to all eligible voters in Israel three weeks before the original election date. If you lost the notice, you can locate the polling station through the Interior Ministry’s dedicated website or by calling: 1-800-101-975 or 077-9790060. You can also find out your polling station location by sending an SMS or a WhatsApp message to 053-3801464.
Identification at the polling station
Residents need to arrive at the polling station with a valid photo ID. This could be an Israeli identity card, a driver’s license, an Israeli passport, or a border crossing card with the holder’s photo.
Voting in the IDF
Soldiers deployed to the Gaza Strip will be able to vote at special polling stations set up in areas held by the Israel Defense Forces. The voting will take place by means of double envelopes for a week prior to election day.
Since soldiers are not allowed to carry identification in enemy territory, identification at these polling stations will consist of a photo of the identifying document displayed on a mobile phone. In exceptional cases, approved by the Interior Minister, a dog tag and identification by another soldier will be sufficient. The details of the attesting soldier will be recorded in the protocol alongside the details of the voting soldier.
Soldiers on reserve duty within the country.
Citizens doing reserve duty can vote at any of the polling stations set up in IDF bases, after identifying themselves with photo ID. Since the polling station is not located in the local municipality where the elections are held—a “soldiers’ notebook,” containing all the lists of candidates for council membership and for the heads of the various municipalities will be available at the voting booth.
I just want the day off. Why should I bother voting?
Avraham Ben Zvi, a council member in the town of Efrat, responded to this question by saying: “The local municipality acts as a funnel for a lot of the national finances that make their way to the residents. Each council has significant wiggle room when it comes to spending on a variety of issues. Among those issues are schools, city maintenance and upkeep, cleanliness, sewage, garbage, recycling, water systems, projects of renewable energy, interface with utilities such as electricity, as well as larger topics such as planning and development.
“Local councils are the ones who decide on zoning and planning issues and whether there be large buildings or smaller houses, for example. The local authorities are the ones to put in recommendations and suggestions to the national government on a wide variety of issues. I would say that approximately 80% of a person’s daily life is affected by decisions made in the municipal council, so it is very important to vote.”
In this year’s election, approximately 3,500 people are running for municipal or regional council positions in 259 municipalities across Israel.