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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Melanie Lidman

In Netanyahu stronghold, signs of fraying loyalty emerge on eve of election

Israel Elections Netanyahu Stronghold - (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Kiryat Shmona has long been a bastion of support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party. But that loyalty is no longer ironclad.

Once a bustling commercial center, Israel's northernmost city was temporarily evacuated three years ago after being battered by rockets from nearby Lebanon, and it still feels half-empty even though the attacks have mostly subsided. Although the town remains staunchly conservative, there are rumblings of displeasure with Netanyahu’s handling of the latest war against the militant group Hezbollah, and that could bode poorly for him in Israel's election Tuesday.

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