‘Bibi could have prevented it’: War shakes Netanyahu support in Israel’s north ahead of polls

Nahariya, Israel - The ongoing war has shaken the support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu among his previous backers in Israel's northern region, according to local residents. Sigal Malachi, a plant nursery owner, stated that many of her supporters had previously been right-wing and backers of Netanyahu, but now they are reconsidering their votes for the upcoming October 27 election.

The conflict, which began in October 2023, has disrupted life for northern Israelis and forced some to close their businesses for years. In Nahariya, a town on Israel's Mediterranean coast, residents like Malachi describe the recent conflict as more intense than previous encounters with Hezbollah rocket fire. The war has ended in a fragile ceasefire, but evacuees have not returned home until early 2025, after which life began to normalize again until the northern front reopened due to the Iran war.

Former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, who is seen as Netanyahu's main election rival, is gaining support from those disillusioned with the government's inability to secure lasting peace with militants. The prolonged violence has created a "psychological catastrophe" for residents, with Shadi Tuma, a supermarket owner in Shlomi, an Israeli border town, expressing anger over the government's inability to respond effectively.

Tuma noted that the conflict has shifted political loyalties, as residents who once backed Netanyahu now desire change and feel "protected" by the right-wing government.