Fighting for the North: Protest forum calls for war, against deal in North

Residents of and evacuees from Israel’s North protested outside of a government meeting Sunday morning, calling for a war in the North and protesting making an agreement with Hezbollah. Hundreds of protesters were present, according to organizers.

Participants, active in the Fighting for the North protest organization were lying in sleeping bags on the road to block the entrance to the meeting and make the point that they have been “abandoned in the street” by Israel’s government.

The protest was part of a day of “the war for the North,” which included additional protests and activities. The day was organized by the forum, along with right-wing NGO Im Tirtzu, the Hope forum of some hostage families who seek more military pressure on Hamas, and the Valor forum of 150 families of soldiers who have fallen in the Israel-Hamas war.

Some of the evacuees from the North announced that if there is not “a significant development” by August 15, they would establish a tent city on Israel’s northern border in order to ensure that “the border moves forward to a security zone inside Lebanon.”

The statement was made by Matan Davidian, who said that he coordinates the community of those evacuated from Shlomi, and that he himself has been an evacuee for nine months.

“If there was a goal for war in the North, if there was a real desire for a long-term victory, as far as we are concerned we would be willing to stay out of our homes for a year or two,” he said.

Abandonment of Israel's North

Forum activist Rephael Slav held a poster with bloody handprints painted on at a protest outside Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer’s home Sunday morning, saying that it represented the hands of anyone who signs a deal that “abandons our lives.”

“We won’t let anyone in the country sign a deal on our lives; sign a deal on your own lives. We are going home to full security,” he said.

Additional protests were planned for Sunday night in Haifa and Nahariya.