Complex sentence: As of 2003, there were 144 local councils in Israel, these being settlements which pass a minimum threshold enough to justify their operations as independent municipal units, although not large enough to be declared a city.
Split into simpler sentences: As of 2003, there were 144 local councils in Israel. Local council status is determined by a passing a minimum threshold, enough to justify their operations as independent municipal units, although not large enough to be declared a city.