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Israel's governmental system is based on several basic laws enacted by its unicameral parliament, the Knesset. The president (chief of state) is elected by the Knesset for a 5-year term. Since August 2000, this post has been filled by Moshe Katsav. The prime minister (head of government) exercises executive power and is selected by the president as the party leader most able to form a government. After the president's selection, the chosen prime minister has forty-five days to form a government. In the May 1996 elections, Israelis for the first time voted for the prime minister directly, but direct election has since been repealed. The members of the cabinet must be collectively approved by the Knesset. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (from the Likud party) was first elected 17 February 2001, and re-elected 28 Jan 2003, forming a coalition government with Shinui, National Union, and the Mafdal ( National Religious Party). (In addition, Yisrael Ba-Aliya dissolved itself into Likud.)The Knesset's 120 members are elected by secret ballot to 4-year terms, although the prime minister may decide to call for new elections before the end of the 4-year term. Voting is carried out using the highest averages method of party-list proportional representation, using the d'Hondt formula. General elections are closed listClosed list describes the variant of party-list proportional representation where voters can (effectively) only vote for political parties as a whole and thus have no influence on the (party-supplied) order in which party candidates are elected. If voters; that is, voters vote only for party lists and cannot affect the order of candidates within the lists. There are no separate districts; all voters vote on the same party lists. SuffrageSuffrage is the civil right to vote, or the exercise of that right. In that context it is also called political franchise''. Universal suffrage is the extension of voting privileges to all adults, without distinction to race, sex, belief or social status. is universal among Israeli citizens aged 18 years or older. Polling locations are open in Israel and in settlementsIsraeli settlements are Jewish communities in areas under Israeli control as a result of the 1967 Six Day War. The term does not distinguish between communities established before 1948, subsequently destroyed by the Arabs, and communities newly establishe in the occupied territoriesAn occupied territory is a region that has been taken over by a sovereign power after a military intervention, see belligerent occupation. In most cases the period of occupation is temporary pending the signing of a peace treaty or the formation of a new; absentee ballots are limited to diplomatic staff and the merchant marines.
The independent judicial system includes secular and religious courts. The secular courts are consisted of a three-tier system: Magistrate Courts serve as courts of first instance; above them are the District Courts which serve as appelate courts and also serve as courts of first instance for some cases; at the top of the judicial pyramid is the Supreme Court which is situated in Jerusalem. Marital issues (especially divorce) are under the jurisdiction of religious courts. Israeli law is composed of both laws enacted by the Knesset and of Ordinances which were enacted by the British Mandate rule (until 1948) and later adopted and revised by the Knesset. Israel's legal system is best described as a "mixed" one: it belongs to the western legal systems, it is heavily influenced by the Anglo-American legal system, has some aspects which are typical to the Civil Law tradition, and has unique characterisitics which are induced from the fact that Israel is a Jewish and democratic state. The courts' right of judicial review of the Knesset's legislation comes into effect in cases of non-conformation of legislation to the Basic Laws, in problems of execution of laws and when the validity of subsidiary legislation is in question. In December 1985, Israel informed the UN SecretariatThe United Nations Secretariat is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and it is headed by the United Nations Secretary General, assisted by a staff of international civil servants worldwide. It provides studies, information, and facilities n that it would no longer accept compulsory International Court of JusticeThe International Court of Justice (known colloquially as the World Court is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Established in 1945, its main functions are to settle disputes submitted to it by states and to give advisory opinions on lega jurisdiction.
Israel has no formal constitution. Some of the functions of a constitution are filled by the Declaration of Independence (1948), the Basic Laws of the parliament (Knesset), and the Israeli citizenship law.
Israel is divided into six districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz): Central, HaifaHaifa ( Hebrew alphabet Standard Hebrew efa Tiberian Hebrew ph Arabic ayf is the third largest city in Israel, with a population close to 300,000. Areas and towns around it are deemed to be in the Haifa District, of which it is also a part. It is a seapor, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv. Administration of the districts is coordinated by the Ministry of Interior. The Ministry of Defense is responsible for the administration of the disputed territories.
