Israel's parliament approves DST extension

Published 29-May-2013. Changed 9-Jul-2013

Update, July 9, 2013: Israel's Parliament, the Knesset, has now approved the extension of daylight saving time (DST) in the second and third readings. This means that the country will switch to daylight saving time (DST) at 2:00 a.m. (02:00) on the Friday before the last Sunday in March to 2:00 a.m. (02:00) on the last Sunday in October from 2013 onwards.

Israel's updated DST schedule

Update, June 25, 2013: The Knesset has approved the extension of daylight saving time (DST) in the first reading. The bill will now be prepared for the second and third readings. If the bill is passed, the DST period in Israel will last from 2:00 a.m. (02:00) on the Friday before the last Sunday in March to 2:00 a.m. (02:00) on the last Sunday in October from 2013 onwards.

Update, June 24, 2013: Israel's government has approved the decision to extend daylight saving time (DST) “to the end of October”. The Knesset still has to give the bill its final approval. The government has not yet defined an exact date and time for the switch, so all future DST switches timeanddate.com displays for Israel are preliminary and subject to change.

The clock tower of St. Peter's Church in Tel Aviv.

©iStockphoto.com/motimeiri

Israel is likely to extend Daylight Saving Time (DST) in 2013 and future years. Interior Minister Gideon Sa'ar indicated on Wednesday, May 29, 2013 that the country will observe DST until the end of October. Israel had already passed laws extending the DST period in 2011 and 2012.

The proposed DST rule is that DST starts at 02:00 (2am) local time on the Friday before the last Sunday of March and ends at 02:00 (2am) on the last Sunday of October.

New DST law in 2013?

Israel's Parliament, the Knesset, still has to approve the bill. “I've sent a memo to amend the Setting the Time Law,” Sa'ar wrote on his Facebook page. “I will submit the new daylight savings time law to the government and the Knesset during the current Knesset session so that it will come into effect this October.”

He added: “The extra hours of daylight will improve the quality of life of Israel's people.”

In line with Europe

According to news reports, the idea is to get Israel's seasonal clock changes in line with the European Union, where DST is in effect from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October.

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