Metula mayor blasts Netanyahu over northern blasts after ceasefire announcement

Metula municipal head David Azoulai attacked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, saying residents of northern Israel are paying a heavy price despite the recent announcement that the region was calm. Azoulai wrote that after Netanyahu’s statement, the night in Metula proved otherwise, with a series of interceptions over the town and nonstop explosion sounds. He attached a photo showing interceptor debris that fell on a house in Metula overnight, saying it was only one example among many.

Azoulai said there is a gap between the prime minister’s detached declarations and the reality on the ground. “There are detached statements from the prime minister and there is the reality of explosions and interceptor fragments,” he said. He added, “I remind everyone, it kills, it does not allow us to sleep and above all it does not allow us to return to a normal routine of living in peace and quiet.”

The comments came after Netanyahu’s press conference the previous day, following the ceasefire agreement and understandings between the United States and Iran, and against the backdrop of harsh remarks from US President Donald Trump over the IDF strike in Beirut’s Dahieh district. Netanyahu told Israelis they had all been in “terrible danger of death.” He said, “People ask what we achieved? We distanced ourselves from immediate destruction. The mission of my life is the fight against the Iranian nuclear program. With or without an agreement, Iran will not have nuclear weapons,” while adding that “we still do not know what the agreement between the US and Tehran will be.”

Netanyahu also said Israel had “beheaded the leaders of the terror regime and crushed the terror factories.” Addressing tensions with Trump, he said, “There are cases where Trump and I do not see eye to eye, we need to stand up for Israel’s security interests wisely.” On the northern front, he said the IDF would remain in the security zone “as long as necessary.”