Kiryat Shmona, Israel’s northernmost city, has long been a Likud bastion, but frustration over the war in Lebanon is eroding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s support ahead of Israel’s national election at the end of October 2026.
Reuters reported in June that about half of the city’s voters backed Likud in the last election, and that ending Hezbollah’s near-daily rocket and drone attacks was their biggest concern. A May poll by Agam Labs at the Hebrew University found residents of the north abandoning Likud faster than voters elsewhere and faulting Netanyahu more harshly over the Lebanon war. Voters there told Reuters they want the fight against Hezbollah pursued until the group is dismantled. Reuters described the city as a ghost town, with many residents having left.
Netanyahu’s main rival, Gadi Eisenkot, has visited more than 15 times in recent weeks with a hawkish message, while Netanyahu has stayed away. The north is unlikely to abandon right-wing parties entirely, but a smaller Likud vote in a core stronghold could affect a close race.
Sources: Reuters via Internazionale, Al-Monitor.
