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Israeli Soldier Sentenced to 21 Days in Prison for Desecrating Virgin Mary Statue in Lebanon
The Israeli military announced on Monday that a soldier received a 21-day prison sentence for placing a cigarette in the mouth of a Virgin Mary statue in southern Lebanon. A second soldier who filmed the incident was sentenced to 14 days. The punishments follow an earlier April sentencing of a soldier who smashed a Jesus statue in the same village, even as Lebanon's president urged U.S.
May 11, 10:43 AM·2m read3 sources
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The Israeli military announced on Monday that it had sentenced a soldier to 21 days in military prison for desecrating a statue of the Virgin Mary in the southern Lebanese village of Debel. A second soldier who filmed the incident received a 14-day sentence.
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The military said the act involved placing a cigarette in the statue's mouth and occurred weeks earlier before photos were posted on social media. Officials stated that the military respects freedom of religion and worship. They added that procedures regarding conduct around sensitive sites are routinely reinforced to soldiers.
The incident marks the second such case in the village this year. In April a soldier who smashed a statue of Jesus in Debel was sentenced to 30 days in prison along with the soldier who photographed that act. Both soldiers were removed from combat duty.
Village residents declined the military's offer to replace the statue and instead installed an identical one with assistance from Italian troops.
Lebanon's health ministry reported that 74 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in the last three days. This comes despite a truce announced last month in the fighting between Hezbollah and the Israeli military. The deaths include at least seven people killed in one strike on the southern town of Saksakiyeh.
The ministry said 2,869 people have been killed since the conflict reignited on March 2. That total includes 584 medics, women and minors though it does not specify how many were combatants. Some 1.2 million people have been displaced from their homes in Lebanon.
