Many residents of northern Israeli towns are frustrated with the extension of Israel's ceasefire with Lebanon, Ynet reported on Friday, with some local leaders criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government as yielding to Washington’s influence.
On Thursday night, US President Donald Trump announced a three‑week extension to the ceasefire, a decision that caught many in the border communities by surprise.
In Metula, a border town that recently marked 130 years since its establishment, council head David Azulai oversaw the raising of US flags, not as a gesture of alliance but as a protest symbol.
Metula's Head of Council, David Azulai, said he believes the Israeli government has surrendered too much autonomy and military leverage to the United States, describing the policy as a return to Israel’s approach of restraint that existed before October 7.
“It is sad that the Israeli government and its leader are losing our independence as an independent, sovereign, and democratic state,” Azulai told Ynet.
Head of the Shlomi Regional Council, Yossi Ne’eman, said that while residents understand the ceasefire is temporary and hope it can bring stability, they do not see it as an end to hostilities. He urged preparations for a possible renewed conflict, given what he described as an unstable security situation.
Ynet cited official Israeli reports as saying Hezbollah has violated the terms of the ceasefire on multiple occasions by firing rockets toward Israeli border communities, with the IDF responding by targeting the source of the rocket fire.
Northern residents: IDF restraint emboldens Hezbollah
Some northern residents told Ynet that the restrained nature of the IDF's response has emboldened Hezbollah, while others described frustration with government leadership, arguing that Israel must assert its own priorities rather than follow foreign directives.
Acre resident Amir Assulin told Ynet that Hezbollah has "reestablished a balance of terror with Israel."
Hezbollah openly attacks and boasts about it when Israel responds with a weak response, with no choice, when Trump declares on Twitter that a ceasefire will continue and forces Hezbollah to give it time to prepare and replenish its launchers," said Assulin.
"All this is for talks with the Lebanese state, which has nothing to give and denies any fantasy about a possible peace, and its only goal in the negotiations is the withdrawal of forces and the reconstruction of the villages," continued Assulin.
Kibbutz Yiftach member Yael Moad, of the Galilee, told Ynet she is "starting to think that maybe it's actually better for the IDF not to respond to Hezbollah attacks every time, because it creates a way of life that we are not willing to accept, and it could be accepted by the government and the people as a normal living situation, just as we accepted the drips in the South."
"In a ceasefire situation, as I understand it, the limitation is on the scope and intensity, so any such response is specific to destroying the launcher and 2-3 more on the way, and any thwarting is targeted," added Moad. "It is better that we do not respond until there is no intention of serious action. That Israel will be humiliated in consciousness, instead of only us being humiliated by the government."