Anger and bewilderment in Israel over the ceasefire with Lebanon

The initial reaction in Israel after the announcement of the ten-day ceasefire with Lebanon has been marked by outrage and deep mistrust, both within the government and among the opposition and the population, especially in the north of the country. Now, all eyes are on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: political and military pressure rests on him.Several ministers in his government have complained that they learned of the agreement through a publication on Donald Trump's social media, or through the media, and have questioned how a truce could be announced without the backing of the security cabinet. According to the White House, Netanyahu would have already accepted the truce on Wednesday night during a conversation with Trump.Despite accepting the ceasefire, the leader insisted that his demands remain: the disarmament of Hezbollah and a “sustainable peace based on strength”. He also stressed that Israeli troops will remain in southern Lebanon in an “expanded security zone” of about ten kilometers. At the same time, he stated that he has rejected the conditions of the Shiite group –such as a total withdrawal to the international border or a “calm for calm” ceasefire–, leaving open the interpretation that attacks could be reactivated at any moment. This Friday he reiterated this stance: “In one hand I carry a weapon and in the other, a signal of peace,” he said.Avalanche of criticism

The announcement of the truce has triggered an avalanche of criticism from the opposition, which accuses the prime minister of having given in to American pressure and of having placed Israel in a position that could erode its security. The leader of the opposition, Yair Lapid, has assured that the government once again demonstrates the fragility of its promises and has stated that the fighting in Lebanon can only end by definitively eliminating the threat to the north, which, according to him, will not be possible with the current executive.

Along the same lines, the leader of the nationalist party Yisrael Beiteinu, Avigdor Lieberman, has warned that the truce will only give Hezbollah time to recover and that the war must end with its elimination, and has warned that, otherwise, “the next round is only a matter of time and will be paid for at a higher price and under much worse conditions”.The harshest response has come from the northern communities, near the border with Lebanon. Mayors and local leaders have expressed anger and desperation in the face of a decision they consider hasty and dangerous. David Azoulay, mayor of Metula, less than 200 meters from Lebanese territory, stated that residents “feel betrayed once again” and denounces the government’s disconnect from its population. In a direct appeal to Netanyahu, he said: “Your basic obligation as prime minister is to guarantee the safety of the State's citizens. In practice, you fail again and again”.In similar terms, Avichai Stern, mayor of Kiryat Shmona, about five kilometers from the border, has expressed himself, calling the agreement a "surrender" and warning that it could accelerate a scenario similar to October 7 in the north, referring to Hamas's 2023 attacks. Moshe Davidovich, head of the Mateh Asher Regional Council and president of the Forum of Communities on the Confrontation Line, groups of Israeli border municipalities, said that the agreement reached in Washington has a very high cost for these communities, and that it will be paid in blood.Other authorities from the north have warned that a truce without the effective disarmament of Hezbollah and without a real security zone condemns them to new waves of attacks. They have also rejected the idea that the presence of the Israeli army in Lebanon is sufficient to guarantee calm, and have urged Netanyahu to meet with them behind closed doors. The government has not responded publicly.This unease, however, is not limited to the north of the country. Days before, various polls indicated that a large part of the population would not support stopping the attacks against Hezbollah. Channel 12 put this opposition at 79%. Meanwhile, several Israeli media outlets report that among the population there has grown the perception that Netanyahu has given in to Trump's pressure and that neither Iran nor the Lebanese group have been definitively weakened. On Thursday, before the ceasefire, a poll by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem pointed to a mood marked by "despair and pessimism", where more than 60% of respondents assure that the current reality is worse than they expected, and less than 40% would have supported the operation if they had known how things would go.