Avichai Stern, the mayor of "Kiryat Shmona", urged Israeli settlers not to return to the settlement, Israeli media reported. Stern stressed, in a message to the settlers in northern occupied Palestine, that they should not come back as long as the situation on the borders with Lebanon remained unchanged.

The media pointed out that northern settlements have been emptied of Israeli settlers, noting that it is doubtful whether the settlers will be able to return to the area within a year or more.

Israeli media also reported that settlers in the north are angered by statements made by Israeli Security Minister Yoav Gallant, who mentioned transpiring what he called "military achievements" in the north into a situation that allows settlers to return to the area. The media also urged the Israeli government not to abandon the settlers. 

According to Maariv newspaper, many council leaders and settlers in the north remain concerned that the ceasefire might end the war in the north but will not resolve what they refer to as the "permanent threat" of Hezbollah.

The newspaper cited a northern Israeli settler as saying that it would be a mistake to return settlers to the northern settlements when there is no strong deterrence against the constant threat from Hezbollah.

Another expressed that a day similar to October 7 would come with worse consequences than what was witnessed in the Gaza Envelope, urging the Israeli government to understand that returning settlers back to the north soon is simply abandoning them.

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"Israeli" settler from Kiryat Shmona:

I have no intention of returning to Kiryat Shmona. If the Minister of War is talking about achievements against Hezbollah, let him bring his family and live there at the border and I and my family will live in his place pic.twitter.com/RkIuPaArzD

— AoR News 🇵🇸🇱🇧🇸🇾🇮🇶🇮🇷🇾🇪 (@AoR3138) November 27, 2023

"Israel" abandons settlers in the North

Yesterday, the Israeli Besheva newspaper argued that Gallant had abandoned settlers in northern occupied Palestine in light of the confrontations with the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon, which forced occupation forces to evacuate settlements along the borders.

It pointed out that Gallant "is lying" and would be abandoning settlers of northern occupied Palestine if he intended to return them there.

A couple of days ago, the head of the "Alma" settlement committee in the occupied Upper al-Jalil, Orly Gerbi, said that "life has become a nightmare" in northern settlements due to the Israeli army shelling, sirens, and missile launches.

Gerbi directed her criticism at Benjamin Netanyahu's occupation government, asking, "Why is everyone evacuated around us, and we are left behind?"

Earlier, the head of the "Mateh Asher" Regional Council and chairman of the Confrontation Line Forum in northern occupied Palestine, Moshe Davidovich, said in an interview with Maariv that as long as Hezbollah remains in the north, it is unlikely for settlers to return to the area. He also rejected the idea of settlements potentially turning into military zones.

It is worth noting that the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon targeted Israeli occupation sites along the Lebanese-Palestinian borders throughout the past period since the start of Operation al-Aqsa Flood. They used appropriate weapons, including the Volcano "Burkan" missile, achieving direct hits in response to the ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza and the continued attacks on the southern Lebanese villages.

Read more: Hezbollah announces new operations amid Israeli paralysis in north