Two Israeli soldiers were sentenced to weeks in military prison after one desecrated a statue of the Virgin Mary in southern Lebanon by placing a cigarette in its mouth while another documented the act in a photograph that sparked outrage across the region.
The photo of the soldier, a cigarette dangling from his own mouth, went viral and sparked widespread outrage. It was the latest act by Israeli forces to be denounced as anti-Christian in southern Lebanon, where Israel launched a ground invasion earlier this year.
Israel's military said the soldier posing would get 21 days in military prison and the soldier who photographed it would get 14.
The military "views the incident with great severity and respects freedom of religion and worship, as well as holy sites and religious symbols of all religions and communities,” spokesperson LLt. Col. Ariella Mazor wrote X.
The photo circulated days after images of an Israeli soldier wielding an ax against a fallen statue of Jesus on the cross in the southern Lebanon village of Debel were roundly condemned by foreign leaders, Christian leaders and Israeli politicians. The military sentenced soldiers who participated in the act to time in military prison.
