![Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives an address from his office in Jerusalem on 3 April 2019, announcing that the remains of Sergeant First Class Zachary Baumel, a soldier missing since the 1982 Lebanon war, had been returned to the country. [MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/GettyImages-1134662078.jpg?fit=1024%2C633&ssl=1)
Two leaders of Israeli towns in the peripheries of the Gaza Strip boycotted a visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, local media reported yesterday.
According to the Times of Israel, the leaders accused Netanyahu’s government of ignoring the security situation in the area near Gaza.
Speaking to the Israeli TV Channel 13, they said that the situation and needs in their settlements “are different” and if Netanyahu “did not understand this until now, we have deep worries about how the government understands what is going on in the Gaza periphery.”
After the meeting, which included senior security officials from the cabinet, Netanyahu said that Israel hopes to see calm returned to the area, but threatened military action if needed.
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