Click to see full-size image. (X)
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said on April 21 that it had replaced a crucifix in southern Lebanon after its troops smashed it down over the weekend, but the new one was apparently taken from a church in the region.
The incident, which took place in the Christian village of Debel, caused a backlash against Israel, forcing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to condemn it.
The IDF announced later that the soldier who smashed a statue of Jesus with a sledgehammer in Debel, along with another soldier who photographed the act, have been dismissed from combat duty and sentenced to jail.
An investigation by the military into the incident found that in addition to the soldier who damaged the statue and the soldier who photographed him, six other troops were “present at the scene and did not act to stop the incident or report it.”
“The inquiry determined that the soldiers’ conduct completely deviated from IDF orders and values,” the military said.
The findings of the investigation were presented to the commander of the IDF’s 162nd Division, Brig. Gen. Sagiv Dahan, who is responsible for the sector in southern Lebanon where the incident took place. The IDF said that Dahan accepted the findings and the commanders’ recommendations.
Accordingly, he decided to dismiss the soldier who damaged the crucifix and the soldier who photographed the act from combat duty, and sent them to 30 days in military prison.
“The remaining troops who stood by have been summoned for clarification discussions that will be held later on, after which further command-level measures will be determined,” the military said.
In a separate statement, the IDF said that troops went to Debel to replace the damaged statue with a new one. It added the move was carried out “in full coordination with the local community.”
“The Northern Command worked to coordinate the replacement of the statue from the moment it received the report of the incident,” the military said, adding that it “expresses deep regret over the incident, and is working to ensure that it does not happen again in the future.”
However, the crucifix brought by the IDF was then removed, with rumours suggesting that it was in fact taken, or even stolen, from another church in southern Lebanon. It was not even installed in the correct place, but rather laid against a tree.
Click to see full-size image. (Israeli Defense Forces)
On April 22, Italian peacekeepers installed a new crucifix in Debel to replace the one brought by the IDF. The status was brought in all the way from Italy.
The small village in southern Lebanon has been mostly cut off from the rest of the country by the IDF for nearly two months. Some 1,600 people remain in Debel, including 500 children, down from a pre-war population of around 4,000. The humanitarian situation there is bad. Even communications are limited.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni thanked the Italian peacekeeping contingent, saying: “The images of the statue being handed over to the community and placed in the very spot where the statue destroyed a few days ago by an IDF soldier once stood are heart-warming and send a powerful message of hope, dialogue and peace.”
Click to see full-size image. (Italy in Lebanon)
Since resuming ground operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon last month, the IDF has repeatedly implied that it was only targeting the group and its supporters, mainly Muslim Shia who make up the majority of the region’s population.
There were even reports of deals with Christian and Druze towns in the region, including Debel. Still, many were among more than 600,000 people displaced from the region. Christian towns in particular were targeted more than once. Even elsewhere in Lebanon, Christian were killed by Israeli strikes.
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die erlöser für westliche kapitalistische degenerierte.
this is what the medias in europe and usa call judeo-christianism. jews where always victims. they were always there and are part of our society. christians are nice guys but a bit retarded (gentile). lol. zionist brainwashing of the whites masses.
zio propaganda tries to fix their inherint racist nature…sad attempt.