IDF soldiers jailed for desecrating statue of Mary

Two Israeli Defence Force (IDF) soldiers have received transient prison sentences after putting a cigarette into the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary in occupied Lebanon.

The incident shouldn’t be the primary through which IDF soldiers have been caught desecrating Christian symbols. Last month two soldiers were filmed smashing the face of Jesus on an upturned crucifix.

Both incidents occurred within the Christian village of Debel in Lebanon. The soldier who placed the cigarette within the statues mouth was sentenced to 3 weeks in military prison, while the soldier who photographed the scene was given two weeks.

The punishments are according to what was given to the soldiers who desecrated the crucifix. They were sentenced to a month in military prison and faraway from lively combat duty.

On each occasions Israeli authorities denounced the actions of their soldiers, with last month’s incident receiving such attention that even the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, felt the necessity to comment.

Netanyahu said he was “stunned and saddened” and added “I condemn the act within the strongest terms.”

On the most recent outrage, an IDF spokesperson said it viewed “the incident with great severity”. The IDF added that it respected freedom of faith and the sanctity of holy sites and symbols.

“Procedures regarding conduct around religious institutions and non secular symbols are routinely reinforced to troops prior to entering the relevant areas,” it said. 

Debel’s parish priest, Father Fadi Felfeli, told the BBC that incident “shows that there are individuals throughout the army that lack ethics and values and are bigoted”.

Israel’s actions in Lebanon, that are ostensibly geared toward the militant group Hezbollah, have sometimes proved deadly to local Christians caught within the crossfire.

In March a Catholic priest was killed by an IDF tank shell while he was attempting to assist parishioners in a family home.