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

In the wake of intensified conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, previous supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, particularly in northern Israeli towns like Nahariya and Shlomi, are reconsidering their political loyalties ahead of the October 27, 2026 election.

Residents, who have endured years of conflict and psychological strain, express frustration over the government's perceived failure to ensure security and manage the high cost of living.

While some voters are shifting their support to Netanyahu's rival, Gadi Eisenkot, others remain loyal to the current right-wing coalition, believing it provides necessary protection.

NAHARIYA (Israel), Oct 6 — On Israel’s border with Lebanon, where Hezbollah fired thousands of rockets and drones, previous backers of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu say they are rethinking how they will vote in the first election since the war.

“Many I know were right-wing and were Bibi supporters, and today they’re not,” said plant nursery owner Sigal Malachi, using a nickname for Israel’s longest-serving premier.

In traditional strongholds of Netanyahu support, many told AFP they could no longer back his right-wing government in the October 27 vote, accusing it of failing to secure a lasting quiet with the militants.

Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese militant group, began firing into Israel in October 2023 in support of Hamas following the deadliest-ever attack on the country.

The barrages altered life in northern communities, displacing tens of thousands of Israelis and forcing people like Malachi to close shop for several years.

Northern Israelis are accustomed to incoming fire from the Lebanese side of the border, but they say that round of conflict was more intense.

“We grew up with Katyushas (rockets) and bombs,” said Malachi, whose plant nursery reopened in March.

“This war was different.”

She described that “if you went outside, within a second you’d be running” for shelter.

The war was halted with a fragile ceasefire in November 2024, but evacuees were not allowed home until early 2025.

Life began slowly returning to normal, until the northern front reopened after the outbreak of the Iran war.

Maxim Zarbaylov, who was born in the former Soviet Union but has long lived in Nahariya, the northernmost Israeli town on the Mediterranean, is among those wavering.

“All my life I voted for (Likud), for Bibi Netanyahu... But this year I want to vote for (Gadi) Eisenkot,” he said, referring to the former military chief who is Netanyahu’s main election rival.

Hezbollah has repeatedly dragged Lebanon into conflicts with Israel, most recently in March with rocket fire at Israel in support of Iran.

Israel has in turn seized what it calls a “security zone” in Lebanon, where authorities say Israeli attacks have killed more than 4,300 people.

At least 48 Israeli civilians and 30 soldiers have died on the Lebanese front since 2023.

‘Psychological catastrophe’

The prolonged violence has left border residents in limbo.

“After October 7 we don’t sleep well anymore,” Malachi said.

“I’ve thought about leaving. But the roots are so deep that I’m staying.”

In Shlomi, an Israeli border town, the enemy is a tangible presence behind a hill.

Shadi Tuma, who owns a supermarket there, prides himself on running the only one that remained open.

“This area is under a trauma we haven’t seen before. There’s anger. The government is unable to provide a comprehensive response,” he said.

“It’s a huge psychological catastrophe. Not everyone is able to cope with a war that lasts three years.”

The war has cracked the local support base for Netanyahu, Tuma said.

In the last elections in 2022, the premier’s Likud party won 43 per cent of the vote in Shlomi, compared with 23 per cent nationwide.

Residents who backed Netanyahu “now want change because they no longer trust this government”, Tuma said.

He said the high cost of living was a major complaint.

“Many people I see are struggling to make it to the end of the month.”

For Tuma, the conflict is also personal.

He was born in Lebanon, the son of a fighter with the South Lebanon Army, a militia that fought alongside Israel in the 1980s and that had many fighters granted Israeli citizenship.

The war could have shifted longstanding political loyalties in towns like Nahariya, a sleepy resort of about 70,000 people.

In 2022, 38 per cent of voters there chose Likud.

But Zarbaylov says there is anger over the failure to stop Hamas’ unprecedented assault on the country.

“What happened on October 7, Bibi could have prevented it, but he didn’t,” he said.

“The army, the top commanders, the chief of staff, could have prevented it.”

Others believe only the current hawkish coalition can protect them.

Patrice Haddad retired to Nahariya from Paris a year ago, drawn by the town’s “charm”.

Israel’s “Law of Return” allows any Jew anywhere in the world to immigrate and automatically receive citizenship.

Adjusting to life under the rockets was not simple at first.

“We were told we had 30 seconds to find shelter” after sirens blared, he said. “In reality, sometimes we only had 15, sometimes less.”

For his first election as an Israeli, he has made his choice.

“The left in Israel has done a lot of harm, it wanted to give up territories,” he said.

“It’s important to vote for the right, because for me, with a government like Netanyahu’s, we will feel protected.” — AFP

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随着以色列和真主党之间的冲突加剧，此前支持总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡的人士，尤其是在以色列北部城镇纳哈里亚和什洛米等地的民众，正在重新考虑他们在 2026 年 10 月 27 日大选前的政治立场。

多年来饱受冲突和心理压力之苦的居民们对政府未能保障安全和控制高昂的生活成本表示不满。

虽然一些选民正在将支持转向内塔尼亚胡的竞争对手加迪·艾森科特，但另一些选民仍然忠于目前的右翼联盟，认为该联盟提供了必要的保护。

纳哈里亚（以色列），10 月 6 日——在以色列与黎巴嫩的边境，真主党向那里发射了数千枚火箭弹和无人机，总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡的前支持者表示，他们正在重新考虑在战争以来的首次选举中如何投票。

“我认识的很多人以前是右翼分子，都是内塔尼亚胡的支持者，但现在他们不再是了，”植物苗圃老板西格尔·马拉基说道，他用的是以色列任期最长的总理的昵称。

在内塔尼亚胡的传统支持者聚集地，许多人告诉法新社，他们无法再在 10 月 27 日的投票中支持他的右翼政府，指责该政府未能与武装分子达成持久和平。

2023年10月，在以色列遭受有史以来最致命的袭击后，伊朗支持的黎巴嫩武装组织真主党开始向以色列开火，以支持哈马斯。

炮火改变了北部社区的生活，导致数万以色列人流离失所，并迫使像马拉奇这样的人关门歇业数年。

以色列北部居民已经习惯了来自黎巴嫩边境一侧的炮火，但他们表示，这一轮冲突更加激烈。

“我们是在喀秋莎火箭和炸弹的阴影下长大的，”马拉奇说道，他的苗圃于三月份重新开业。

“这场战争不一样。”

她描述说，“如果你走到外面，一秒钟之内你就会跑去”寻找避难所。

战争在 2024 年 11 月通过脆弱的停火协议停止，但撤离人员直到 2025 年初才被允许回家。

生活开始慢慢恢复正常，直到伊朗战争爆发后北部战线重新开战。

出生于前苏联，但长期居住在以色列最北端地中海沿岸城镇纳哈里亚的马克西姆·扎尔巴伊洛夫也是犹豫不决的人之一。

“我这辈子都投票给（利库德集团），投票给内塔尼亚胡……但今年我想投票给（加迪）艾森科特，”他说道，指的是内塔尼亚胡的主要竞选对手、前军事首脑艾森科特。

真主党多次将黎巴嫩拖入与以色列的冲突中，最近一次是在今年3月，真主党向以色列发射火箭弹以支持伊朗。

以色列随后占领了黎巴嫩境内它所谓的“安全区”，黎巴嫩当局称以色列的袭击已造成超过 4300 人死亡。

自 2023 年以来，至少有 48 名以色列平民和 30 名士兵在黎巴嫩前线丧生。

“心理灾难”

持续不断的暴力冲突使边境居民的生活陷入困境。

“10月7日之后，我们就睡不好觉了，”马拉基说。

“我曾想过离开。但这里根深蒂固，所以我决定留下来。”

在以色列边境小镇什洛米，敌人就藏在山后，是触手可及的存在。

沙迪·图马在那里拥有一家超市，他很自豪自己是唯一一家仍在营业的超市。

他说：“这个地区正遭受着前所未有的创伤。民众充满愤怒。政府却无力提供全面的应对措施。”

“这是一场巨大的心理灾难。不是每个人都能承受一场持续三年的战争。”

图马表示，这场战争动摇了内塔尼亚胡在当地的支持基础。

在 2022 年的上次选举中，总理所在的利库德集团在什洛米赢得了 43% 的选票，而全国平均得票率为 23%。

图马说，支持内塔尼亚胡的居民“现在想要改变，因为他们不再信任本届政府”。

他说，生活成本高昂是人们抱怨最多的问题之一。

“我看到很多人都在为熬过这个月而苦苦挣扎。”

对图马来说，这场冲突也是私人恩怨。

他出生于黎巴嫩，父亲是南黎巴嫩军的一名战士。南黎巴嫩军是一支民兵组织，曾在 20 世纪 80 年代与以色列并肩作战，其许多战士获得了以色列公民身份。

战争可能会改变像纳哈里亚这样的小镇长期以来的政治忠诚度，纳哈里亚是一个拥有约 7 万人口的宁静度假胜地。

2022年，当地38%的选民选择了利库德集团。

但扎尔巴伊洛夫表示，民众对未能阻止哈马斯对该国前所未有的袭击感到愤怒。

“10月7日发生的事情，内塔尼亚胡本可以阻止，但他没有，”他说。

“军队、高级指挥官、参谋长本可以阻止这场悲剧的发生。”

另一些人则认为只有当前的鹰派联盟才能保护他们。

一年前，帕特里斯·哈达德从巴黎退休，搬到纳哈里亚居住，被这座小镇的“魅力”所吸引。

以色列的“回归法”允许世界各地的任何犹太人移民并自动获得公民身份。

起初，适应火箭下的生活并不容易。

他说：“警报响起后，我们被告知只有30秒时间寻找掩体。但实际上，有时我们只有15秒，有时甚至更短。”

作为一名以色列公民，这是他第一次参加选举，他已经做出了选择。

他说：“以色列左翼造成了很多伤害，他们想要放弃领土。”

“投票给右翼很重要，因为对我来说，有了像内塔尼亚胡这样的政府，我们才会感到受到保护。”——法新社

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