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Israeli Soldier Sentenced to 30 Days for Vandalizing Jesus Statue in Lebanon
An Israeli soldier was jailed for 30 days after footage showed him using a sledgehammer to damage the head of a Jesus statue in Debel, Lebanon. Another soldier who filmed the incident received the same punishment, while six others were summoned for questioning. The event drew a response from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who stated Israel respects all religions.
AJ
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Israel announced on Tuesday that a soldier who damaged the head of a statue of Jesus in Debel, Lebanon, using a sledgehammer had been jailed for 30 days. Another soldier who filmed the attack also received a 30-day jail term. Six other soldiers were summoned for questioning regarding the incident, according to @AJEnglish reported.
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The footage of the Israeli soldier attacking the statue was released on April 19, 2026, and went viral on Sunday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the footage on Monday, stating that Israel respects all religions. No Israeli soldier has been charged with killing a Palestinian this decade.
Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh, who was a Christian, was killed in the occupied West Bank in 2022. In March, Netanyahu found himself having to explain the decision to block the passage of Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to mark Palm Sunday, one of the holiest days of the Christian calendar.
Before the end of the same day, Netanyahu had posted to social media, explaining that there had been “no malicious intent whatsoever, only concern for his safety”.
Last July, Netanyahu again found himself apologising for a strike on a church in Gaza following pressure from the Trump administration, when three of the hundreds of people sheltering there were killed and several others injured, including the parish priest who regularly spoke to the late Pope Francis.
