The Lebanese Christian village of Debel became a major point of contention in the ongoing Israeli war last month, when images emerged of an IDF soldier smashing a statue of Jesus Christ with a sledgehammer. The IDF insisted it was “contrary” to their values and ultimately reported two people involved were jailed.
It was not the last time the Christian village was a topic, as about a week later video of Israeli forces destroying the solar panels powering Debel’s water supply came out, and again an investigation was promised.
Today, a new incident has emerged, with Israeli broadcaster KAN showing a photo of an IDF soldier disrespecting a statue of the Virgin Mary, once again believed to have been shot in Debel. The soldier was shown smoking a cigarette and holding a second cigarette in the mouth of the statue.
An IDF soldier with the statue of Mary in southern Lebanon
The IDF said that the photo is being “looked into” but so far is declining further comment. Given how quickly the previous statue incident escalated into an international incident, however, they likely won’t be able to avoid comment forever.
This is just the latest incident involving Debel, and indeed the latest of even more incidents involving Lebanon’s Christian community, as over the weekend Israeli forces had similarly been reported to have attacked and largely destroyed a Catholic convent in Yaroun.
The IDF narrative has been that they are only targeting Hezbollah, and not the civilian nor religious sites across occupied southern Lebanon. This claim is being constantly undercut by reality on the ground, and while no physical damage appears to have been done with today’s statue incident, unlike the prior one, the fact that such things keep recurring suggests an ongoing problem with Israeli occupation forces.
