On Monday, the Israeli military confirmed that one of its soldiers hit a statue of Jesus with a sledgehammer in a Christian village in southern Lebanon. The incident led to a criminal investigation and strong criticism from the country’s leaders.
The picture, which quickly went viral on social media on Sunday, shows a soldier in uniform from the Israel Defense Forces hitting the head of a Jesus statue that had been taken off its cross in Debel, a Maronite Christian village about three miles from the Israeli border.
The IDF said they knew who the soldier was and that the Northern Command was looking into the matter as a crime. “The soldier’s behavior is completely out of line with what we expect from our troops,” the military said. They also said they are working with the local community to fix the statue.
The Israeli military’s admission has more weight than just this one incident. Since starting a campaign to destroy Hezbollah’s military infrastructure, IDF forces have been working in dozens of towns in southern Lebanon. Israel has always said that this offensive is targeted and respectful of civilian life. The military confirmed the photograph after some initial skepticism, and it contradicts their previous statements. It has gotten a lot of attention from Christian groups in Lebanon and around the world.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, said he was “stunned and saddened” when he heard about the event. He condemned it with utmost severity and stated that military leaders would impose appropriately severe disciplinary measures.
Gideon Sa’ar, the foreign minister, went even further and called the soldier’s actions “grave and disgraceful.”
Sa’ar said, “This shameful act goes against everything we stand for.” “Israel is a country that honors the different religions and their holy symbols. We are sorry for what happened and for hurting the feelings of every Christian.
Wadie Abunassar, the head of the Christian Forum in the Holy Land, stated that we cannot ignore the event. He said, “It is impossible to stay quiet in the face of such violations,” and called for formal complaints to make sure the soldier is punished.
Reuters said that the statue may have already fallen before the soldier hit it. This is still not clear in the IDF’s ongoing investigation. CNN and AFP confirmed that the place was Debel. Al Jazeera’s report was in line with those reports.
The IDF said on Monday that its operations in southern Lebanon are only aimed at Hezbollah and that it has “no intention of harming civilian infrastructure, including religious buildings or religious symbols.”
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