Netanyahu apologizes for the photograph of an Israeli soldier destroying a crucifix

BarcelonaThe controversy has been so strong that Benjamin Netanyahu has been forced to apologize publicly. It all began over the weekend, when a photograph showing an Israeli soldier in southern Lebanon hitting the head of a crucifix with a hammer, lying upside down after being taken down from the cross, caused a major controversy on social media. In an unusual move, this Monday the Prime Minister of Israel condemned the acts "with all his might" and announced an investigation into the incident, as well as "harsh disciplinary action" against the soldier.

"We express rejection of the incident and any harm it has caused to believers in Lebanon and around the world," Netanyahu wrote on X. As Reuters has been able to verify, the photograph was taken in Debel, a town in southern Lebanon occupied by Israel. The town's priest detailed that the statue was in a garden belonging to a family on the outskirts of the town. Although the photograph has gone viral in recent hours, it is not clear when it was taken, as the Israeli army has been occupying the area for weeks.

Following the avalanche of criticism, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has also had to apologize for the attack, calling it "serious and shameful" and congratulating the Israeli army for condemning the incident and "carrying out an investigation into the case." "I am convinced that the necessary strict measures will be taken against whoever committed this regrettable act," Saar assured.

Attacks against religious symbols

Israeli attacks against non-Jewish religious symbols are, however, nothing new. In the West Bank, the most explicit ones are recorded, perpetrated by Israeli settlers against mosques and sacred sites, often Muslim, but sometimes also Christian. Attacks by police and army soldiers against religious symbols and intimidation of people because of their religion have also been recorded. intimidation of people for their religion.

Israel's latest major controversy with Christianity took place this Holy Week. At that time, Israeli police forced the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the highest representative of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, to turn back as he was heading to the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Palm Sunday mass there. Amidst the restrictions imposed by the Israeli executive due to the war against Iran, which limited the number of people who could gather and kept several places of worship closed, Pizzaballa described the situation as "manifestly irrational and very disproportionate." The Church, for its part, assured that the mass at the Holy Sepulchre complied with all restrictions.