No love for Trump or Netanyahu in Israeli town battered by Hezbollah

The mayor of Metula, Israel's northernmost community, has taken the American flag down from the town center to protest President Donald Trump's late endorsement of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mayor David Azoulay told MS NOW he remains grateful to Trump for helping free the hostages, but objects to American meddling in how Israelis vote. He says Trump has talked more than he has acted on Iran.

After the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, 2023, most of Metula's 2,500 residents left, and ninety percent of homes were destroyed or damaged. In March, after the joint U.S.-Israel strike on Iran, Israel's military moved into Lebanon and pushed Hezbollah back, with heavy damage there. Residents have returned, but rebuilding depends on the Iran war ending and on shaky U.S.-led talks between Israel and Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah.

Hagai Rosenbaum, a fruit farmer from a multigenerational local family, wants the Netanyahu government to do more to clear unexploded ordnance and rocket remnants from farmland. He said cluster bombs fell in Metula, and he watches the ground as he walks his kiwi orchard.

Summarized by PolitiKool from MS NOW’s reporting. Read the full story at MS NOW →