Netanyahu’s Northern Policy May Cost Him Votes

A commentary in N12 argues that the ceasefire period in northern Israel is fueling anger and despair in border communities, especially Kiryat Shmona, and could hurt Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the next election. The piece says Netanyahu is beginning to understand that his political position is weakening, after he demanded an urgent cabinet meeting a few weeks ago and told aides, “In one hour everyone is at my place.” At that meeting, according to participants, he urged ministers not to spare resources and said, “We are losing our people,” referring to Likud voters in Kiryat Shmona and the surrounding area.

The article says Netanyahu’s recent visit to the north did not include walking through Kiryat Shmona, speaking with residents, or fully grasping their frustration. In the 2022 Knesset election, 50% of Kiryat Shmona voters chose Likud, nearly 14% voted for Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, and 11% voted for Shas, meaning three of every four eligible voters backed Netanyahu’s bloc. A longtime resident told the writer that if one in four residents still says he supports Netanyahu now, “that is an achievement.”

The piece cites a city hall Facebook video from early April in which Netanyahu, speaking from Jerusalem, said critics who claim Israel has “lost the north” are mistaken and said the government is bringing “a huge amount of money” to help the region. The post drew about 2,400 comments, mostly hostile, including, “Bibi, you disappointed me, you and my family will no longer get my vote,” and “We will settle the score with you at the ballot box.”

The commentary says the situation worsened as Kiryat Shmona and the border region endured 50 days of constant fire, while residents were told Israel could not respond because U.S. President Donald Trump would not approve action. After the shelling expanded to Karmiel, Tzfat, Tiberias, Acre and the Krayot, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered strikes in Beirut’s Dahieh district. The article argues that by containing the fire in the north, Netanyahu created a de facto two-tier reality and gave Hezbollah legitimacy to keep firing rockets and drones. It adds that more than 90,000 eligible voters live in the border communities and Nahariya, with 56,620 valid votes in the last election and almost 60% backing Netanyahu’s bloc, a margin that could cost him a mandate or more in a tightly contested race.