Source : Perth Now news
A photo of an Israeli man smashing a crucifix in a southern Palestinian town residence to Christians has received widespread criticism from Jewish leaders, the United States, and religion leaders.
A soldier poses the harsh side of an axe to a fallen Jesus on the bridge in a picture that came up digitally over the weekend.
Younis Tirawi, a Israeli reporter who has also published photos of Israeli military acting ostensibly against the law in the Gaza Strip, posted it.
The picture was located in Debel, one of the few southern Lebanon towns where residents remained after the Israeli military launched rockets at Israel to help Iran on March 2.
According to Fadi Falfel, a preacher in Debel, the cross was a little shrine in the backyard of a family that lived on the edge of the village.
One of the Israeli military “broke the bridge and did this hideous thing, this destruction of our holy characters,” he said.
The Jewish Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, a member of the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land, claimed in a speech that the work” a grave threat to the Christian faith.”
The statement read,” This further reveals a troubling loss in social and individual development, wherein even the most basic reverence for the spiritual and for the dignity of others has been gravely compromised,” the statement continued.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, declared that the officer’s actions violated Israeli principles of compassion and that he would be punished.
” It shocked and saddened me to learn that a southern Lebanonese Army soldier had damaged a Catholic religious emblem. He wrote on X that” I condemn the action in the most severe words.”
Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, stated on X that” Swift, serious, andamp;public effects are needed.”
Gideon Saar, the general’s representative in Israel, described his actions as scandalous and terrible. Every Christian whose feelings were hurt, Saar said on X, and we apologise for this event.
The Israeli army stated that the affair was being looked into.
The IDF ( Israel Defence Forces ) expresses a “high degree of severity” in its response to the event and points out that the officer’s actions are wholly incompatible with the values that are expected of its soldiers, according to the military.
The IDF is assisting the area in placing the statue back where it belongs.
Debel is one of the dozens of southern Lebanon settlements that are currently being effectively occupied by Israel.
On Thursday, Israel and Lebanon reached an agreement to end Israeli-Hezbollah battle, which was facilitated by the US.
