An IDF soldier has been sentenced to three weeks in military prison after he was filmed placing a cigarette in the mouth of a statue of Mary in southern Lebanon.
Images of the incident, which took place several weeks ago but was circulated more widely on social media in recent days, showed the soldier desecrating the Christian symbol and pretending to smoke alongside the mother of Jesus.
Responding to online backlash last week, the IDF’s new international spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Ariella Mazor, said: “The IDF views the incident with utmost severity and emphasises that the conduct of the soldier completely deviates from the values expected of its personnel.
"The incident will be investigated, and command measures will be taken against the soldier in accordance with the findings.
“The IDF respects freedom of religion and worship, as well as holy sites and religious symbols of all religions and communities.
“The IDF operates to address the terrorist infrastructure established by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and has no intention of harming civilian infrastructure, including religious buildings or religious symbols.”
And, in a further statement on Monday, she confirmed that the soldier in question had been jailed for 21 days, while another serviceman, who filmed the incident, was sentenced to 14 days.
"The IDF 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,” Mazor continued.
“Procedures regarding conduct around religious institutions and religious symbols are routinely reinforced to troops prior to entering the relevant areas."
The row is the latest in a series of similar incidents in recent months, which have strained relations between Israel and parts of the global Christian community.
Earlier this month, a nun was assaulted in Jerusalem, suffering bruising to her head after she was shoved to the ground and kicked in the Old City. Police have since charged Yonah Shreiber, 36, with “assault causing actual injury motivated by hostility toward the public on the grounds of religion”.
And, last month, another two soldiers were jailed after one of them used an axe to smash a statue of Jesus and dislodge it from a crucifix in the Lebanese town of Debel, again on camera.
The IDF apologised to the Christian community and helped to erect a replacement statue at the site.
Prior to that, Prime Minister Netanyahu personally apologised to Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the latin patriarch of Jerusalem, after police blocked him and another priest from visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday.
The officers believed that the clergymen were planning to stage a public ceremony, potentially in violation of Home Front Command regulations amid the Iran War, but they were instead planning to hold a small private mass.
After being informed of the case, and following criticism from US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Netanyahu said he had instructed Israeli authorities to grant Pizzaballa “full and immediate access” to all holy sites.
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