Kiryat Shmona has been at the receiving end of Hezbollah rocket attacksImage: David Cohen/JINI/Xinhua/picture alliance
Residents of Kiryat Shmona, the largest Israeli town on the country’s northern border with Lebanon, went on strike on Sunday, to protest the ceasefire in the conflict with the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia there, Israeli media reported.
The protest affected the first work day, as the Israeli work week starts on Sunday.
City administration and schools were closed, Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported.
Kiryat Shmona has been repeatedly shelled by Hezbollah during the most recent war. Residents of the city are calling for Hezbollah to be fully disarmed and for better rocket protection in the border town, especially for schools and daycare centers.
Kiryat Shmona residents supportive of the strike say they want Israel to deliver ‘complete victory’ over HezbollahImage: Jalaa Marey/AFP
Many of the 24,000 residents of Kiryat Shmona have left after the Gaza war began two and a half years ago.
Many remaining residents are angry at the Israeli government, accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of allowing a ceasefire in Lebanon to be imposed on him by US President Donald Trump.
“This is not a complete victory — it is a turning away from the residents of the north!” a statement from the town’s mayor, Avichai Stern, read.
Stern spoke of a “dangerous ceasefire” that was sacrificing the security of Israel’s northern residents.
Netanyahu, meanwhile, had repeatedly promised Israelis a decisive victory over Hezbollah.
Protests by representatives of Kiryat Shmona are also planned in Jerusalem.
