Israel municipal vote postponed in evacuated areas near Lebanon

Israeli municipal elections in areas near the Lebanese border and the Gaza Strip are expected to be postponed from February 27 to November 19, after a parliamentary committee recommended it Tuesday.

"The internal affairs committee of the Knesset (parliament) has decided to support the interior minister's proposal to postpone the elections to November 19, 2024 in the nine areas evacuated by the government decision," it said in a statement.

The committee's recommendation is expected to be approved imminently by the Knesset.

Nearly 150,000 Israelis have been displaced from their homes after the Hamas attack against Israel on October 7.

That includes around 80,000 Israelis in the north of Israel, due to near daily exchanges of fire with Hezbollah across the border with Lebanon, and 60,000 residents in areas close to Gaza that were targeted by Hamas.

In the rest of Israel, including in the occupied West Bank and the occupied and annexed Golan Heights, elections will go ahead on February 27.

The elections have been postponed twice from their original date of October 31.