Kiryat Shmona’s political reckoning: Can Netanyahu hold Israel’s battered north?

Kiryat Shmona, a city in Israel’s far north, faces an unprecedented crisis following prolonged evacuation and repeated government promises that have failed to materialise. The small city has been devastated by the conflict, leaving residents questioning their traditional loyalty to the ruling Likud party for the first time in recent memory.

The northern border town, which has historically delivered overwhelming support to Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud, is now testing the limits of that allegiance. Residents describe a sense of abandonment by the government, with some giving the administration a score of zero. Yet others—particularly longstanding Likud voters—struggle to imagine casting a ballot for any other party, reflecting deep divisions within the community over how to respond to the disaster that has befallen their city.

The situation underscores a critical political moment for Netanyahu’s coalition. While the government has made numerous promises to rebuild and support displaced residents, the scale of destruction and the length of the evacuation have bred profound frustration. Many residents argue that it is war itself, not government policy, that has inflicted irreparable damage on their community—though others counter that insufficient government preparation and response have compounded the catastrophe.

As municipal and national elections loom, Kiryat Shmona represents a bellwether for whether traditional strongholds of the right can weather the political storm created by the conflict. The city’s voters face a stark choice: remain loyal to Netanyahu despite the devastation, or seek alternatives they may view as even riskier.

Source: Ynet — Original article in Hebrew.