‘Don’t return home, Hezbollah still a danger’ – Mayor to northerners

“If someone thinks these concrete slabs will stop Hezbollah, they are mistaken,” says Kiryat Shmona Mayor Avichai Stern.

By World Israel News Staff

The mayor of Kiryat Shmona slammed the defense and security establishment for failing to secure the northern border, even after 15 months of war against the Hezbollah terror group, in a fiery video posted to social media on Monday.

Avichai Stern, the mayor of Israel’s northernmost city, called on residents not to return to their homes until the state provides proper protection against a potential Hezbollah invasion.

According to official statements, northerners are slated to return to evacuated cities and towns by March 1, 2025.

Clad in a bulletproof vest, Stern filmed himself standing near the Israel-Lebanon border fence, adjacent to the Margaliot moshav.

Pointing to a chain link fence that had been smashed to the ground, Stern noted that the border appeared to be completely unsecured in the area.

He gestured towards large concrete slabs, which did not form a complete barrier and appeared to have been haphazardly placed along the border as a temporary solution.

“Tell me, have we learned nothing?” Stern said, filming past the fence towards a valley, which is Lebanese territory.

From the video, it appears that Hezbollah operatives could easily make their way from the other end of the valley into Israel.

“These concrete slabs are really going to stop Hezbollah terrorists? They’re going to prevent the next October 7th massacre in the north?”

Stern continued, saying that “if someone thinks these concrete slabs will stop Hezbollah, they are mistaken.”

They mayor said that “it really looks like we’ve learned nothing from October 7th. This is how we remove threats? They’re telling us it’s safe to come home when this is the situation?”

He sarcastically added that “maybe [the authorities] will tell us to just live inside of our bomb shelters.”

Visibly angry, Stern concluded by saying that “this is no how you provide security to the residents of the north.”