The circle of anger is expanding within the northern settlements in Israel, with mounting criticism directed at the military establishment and the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, against the backdrop of continued Hezbollah attacks and fears of the repercussions of possible US-Iranian understandings on the Lebanese front.
Israeli media quoted the people of Kiryat Shmona and the heads of local authorities in the north as direct accusations against Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and the Commander of the Northern Command of “abandoning Israeli soldiers” in the face of Hezbollah, in light of the continuing confrontations and security tension on the border with Lebanon.
Local officials said, according to what was reported by Israeli media, addressing the army commanders: “We ask you to resign immediately… We do not know how to protect our soldiers and the north under these circumstances,” in an expression of the growing level of frustration within the northern settlements as a result of what they described as the failure of the military leadership to contain Hezbollah’s threats.
This internal escalation comes at a time when Israel is in a state of cautious anticipation of the understandings being worked on between Washington and Tehran to end the war that has been going on in the region since February 28, amid growing Israeli fears that these understandings will include restrictions on any large-scale military escalation against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The heads of local authorities and settlement councils in the north expressed their concern about what they described as “abandoning them to their fate,” stressing that they had not received any official update from the Israeli government regarding the nature of the potential agreement between the United States and Iran or its repercussions on the security situation on the northern front.
According to Israeli reports, the mayors expressed their dissatisfaction that information related to the understandings reached them through the American media and leaks, and not through the Israeli government, considering that Tel Aviv deals with the residents of the north “as spectators to their security future.”
These criticisms coincided with statements by Netanyahu in which he stressed that US President Donald Trump stressed “Israel’s right to defend itself on all fronts, including Lebanon,” without providing clarifications about the limits of this support or the impact of the American-Iranian understanding on military operations against Hezbollah.
In positions that reflect the depth of the crisis inside northern Israel, the mayor of Kiryat Shmona, Abihai Stern, said that “Israel no longer has sovereignty over its land,” adding: “Until now we are left to American interests,” referring to the growing feeling within the border settlements that Washington is now controlling the pace of the confrontation and its borders more than the Israeli government itself.
These positions reveal the extent of the escalating internal division within Israel regarding the management of the war, especially on the northern front, which over the past months has turned into a daily arena of attrition due to mutual attacks between Hezbollah and the Israeli army.
The growing state of anger in the north also reflects the extent of Israeli concern that any US-Iranian agreement would lead to the establishment of new security equations on the Lebanese border, giving Hezbollah a greater margin of power and restricting the freedom of Israeli military action, at a time when the settlers feel that they are paying the price for the regional calculations and international understandings taking place behind the scenes.
These developments come in parallel with escalating political and military pressures inside Israel, as Netanyahu’s government faces increasing criticism from the opposition and residents of the border areas, amid accusations of failing to restore security to the north or develop a clear strategy to end the open state of attrition with Hezbollah.
