Givat Ze'ev Granted City Status After Central Command Order

Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, head of IDF Central Command, signed the final order granting Givat Ze'ev city status, ending its decades as a local council. The decision followed professional work by the Defense Ministry's Settlement Directorate, the Interior Ministry and a geographic committee, which cited one of Israel's fastest population-growth rates. Officials said the change expands municipal authority and planning capacity for services and development. Mayor Yossi Asraf called it a historic strengthening of settlement around Jerusalem and said the growing city would preserve its warm, rural and communal character.