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Israeli Lawmakers to Forgo Salary Hikes in Show of Solidarity Amid Gaza War, Economic Damage
A local woman passes by a shop that displays an Israeli flag in the city of Tiberias, Israel, Nov. 8, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
Members of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, announced on Wednesday that they decided to freeze their own planned pay raises, saying it was not the time for lawmakers to receive a salary bump as the Israeli economy suffered from the ongoing war with the Hamas terror group in Gaza.
“There is no need to justify the obvious: the members’ salaries will not increase during this time,” said Ofir Katz, who chairs the Knesset’s House Committee. Katz added that the salaries would also remain the same for the prime minister, president, judges, and other ministers.
This decision followed the recommendation of the committee that determines salaries and other payments to members of the Knesset, which said, “The difficult war that was imposed on us brings with it severe economic consequences for the entire economy and economic damage to many of the country’s citizens. Under these circumstances, members of the Knesset must set a personal example and forgo the expected increase in their salary.”
Israeli business and outside investment have suffered due to the war, which began with Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel.
The committee responsible for recommending lawmaker wage hikes added: “This decision will also affect employees and former office holders whose wages are received by said office holders and will convey to the public a message of solidarity, responsibility, and values.”
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana had echoed those sentiments earlier this week in light of the war with Hamas.
“At this time, when the state and many of its citizens are dealing with the economic consequences of the war, just as I worked to cut NIS 80 million [$20.5 million] from the Knesset budget, I think it would be right for Knesset members to also be partners in the economic effort, which should be focused on rehabilitating communities and their residents,” Ohana wrote in a letter to the committee.
The salary hike of 8 percent from the current pay rate of 47,000 NIS (about $12,700) per month was set to go into effect for the lawmakers on Jan. 1 for the 2024 calendar year.
Already above the average Israeli salary of 12,804 NIS per month, the scheduled increase turned some heads as the country has been primarily focused on its wartime budget. Controversy erupted over the recently approved budget, which some members of the Knesset railed against since not all the money was allocated to the war effort. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich backed his budget plan, saying there was enough money at the moment to support military matters and all other areas.
The decision to freeze salary hikes was opposed by some judges, who are the highest paid members of Israel’s governing system, according to Hebrew-language media. The Israeli Supreme Court’s president receives approximately 98,000 NIS per month (about $26,000).
The scheduled pay increases for 2025 will be based on the estimated wage that was supposed to be set for 2024, meaning that lawmakers and members of government will see a double raise in their salaries compared to this year.
Typically, lawmakers have seen annual wage hikes in accordance with average market wage levels. In January 2023, their salaries rose by 5.1 percent after the Knesset was urged to veto a proposed 12.5 percent salary hike amid high inflation and a skyrocketing cost of living. Before then, salaries had been frozen in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The post Israeli Lawmakers to Forgo Salary Hikes in Show of Solidarity Amid Gaza War, Economic Damage first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.