News Brief04:30 AM

(IsraelNN.com) The Knesset will vote next week on a proposal that would raise the legal age of marriage to 18.  The law currently allows 17-year-olds to marry.  Over 10,000 women under the age of 18, most of them 17 years old, were married between 2000 and 2005.  Arab schools in Israel have reported an increase in the number of married 17-year-olds.

Those who support the proposal say that girls who marry at age 17 are often unable to finish their high school education, leaving them with fewer options for future employment.  Arab and Jewish religious parties oppose the bill.