On “Independence” Day, Calls Within Israel for Separation

Shafaq News/ On Friday, The head of the Regional Council in northern Israel, Moshe Davidovich, threatened to secede from Israel amid escalating tensions in the north following confrontations with Lebanese Hezbollah.

The Israeli official said on Channel 13, “We will secede from the state,” expressing his frustration with the Israeli government’s inability to protect its citizens in the north.

The head of the “Mateh Asher” regional council added, “We feel that we are being left to face our fate on our own,” adding that “the government is not doing enough to protect us, and we are seriously considering secession from the state.”

Davidovich continued, “We don’t want to be part of a state that doesn’t care about the security of its citizens… If the government can’t protect us, we will protect ourselves.”

Meanwhile, Israeli outlets quoted local officials on the borders with Lebanon as saying, “From now on, we will stop listening to the government, we will run as an independent country and act independently without a state.”

They also pointed out that with escalating tensions, residents are preparing for major protests next week.

They will declare The “Galilee State” referring to the region located in northernmost occupied Palestine “Israel” and southern Lebanon.

Israel’s actual nightmare, Hezbollah, is one of the most powerful paramilitary forces in the Middle East that has been deeply involved in intense, near-daily cross-border fighting with Israel since October 7, marking the most significant escalation since the 2006 war.

So far, approximately 350 Hezbollah members have been killed in Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah mourns all its members killed by Israel under the slogan: “on the path to Jerusalem” since October 2023, in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza who have been subjected to Israeli aggression for about six months.

Conversely, the group has targeted Israel with heavy missiles, resulting in the deaths and wounding of soldiers and the destruction of hundreds of military telecommunication towers, as well as dropping drones, including the “pride” of the Israeli army industry Hermes 450, a multi-payload drone made by Elbit Systems, an Israel-based weapons manufacturer.

Israel remains highly secretive about its losses with Hezbollah, but all settlements in the northern region are devoid of residents, who have either fled elsewhere or sought refuge in shelters. There is also an internal Israeli conflict over the escalating tensions with Hezbollah, given the group’s possession of an arsenal of up to 100,000 missiles, including those capable of reaching Tel Aviv, as stated by Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

Notably, Sayyed Nasrallah established rules of engagement; he determined that any Israeli attack on civilians would trigger rocket fire on Kiryat Shmona and settlements in the Galilee. These rockets targeted both open and populated areas.