Avichai Stern, mayor of Kiryat Shmona, voiced the frustration of northern residents today (Thursday) amid ongoing tensions along the border: “It’s clear this isn’t really a ceasefire—it’s a rearmament, a tactical regrouping for Hezbollah.”
“We’ll give all the time in the world and all the backing—if they guarantee us that at the end of this campaign there will be no Hezbollah,” Stern said. “But not when they talk to us about an imaginary ceasefire that a minute before it took effect there was massive fire with casualties on our side, and from that moment it essentially hasn’t stopped—even at one in the morning there were sirens here. So what ceasefire are we talking about? Who are we negotiating with? An organization that doesn’t stop for a moment arming itself and trying to destroy us.”
Stern argued the ceasefire only allows Hezbollah to rearm: “It’s clear this isn’t really a ceasefire—it’s a rearmament, a tactical regrouping for this organization. The more they get back on their feet, the harder we need to hit, not give in to any pressure. The security of us northern residents, of the Gaza border communities too, is not up for negotiation with any country. We also need to know how to say no until our citizens’ security is assured.”
He concluded: “Even the great United States, certainly Donald Trump who we see how he conducts himself and we appreciate him very much, would not allow such a threat over the heads of his citizens in any state or any city in the United States.”