Lebanese Residents Reject Jesus Statue Offered by Israeli Army

JAKARTA - Residents of Debel City in southern Lebanon rejected a statue of Jesus Christ offered by the Israeli army in exchange for a statue destroyed by an Israeli soldier a few days earlier, local media reported Thursday.

Israeli news site Walla said residents "did not accept a statue of Jesus Christ offered to them by the Israeli army, after a soldier destroyed a statue standing in the city."

"Residents are not interested in statues of those who have hurt their feelings, in actions that angered millions of Christians around the world," the report said, as quoted by Anadolu (24/4).

Instead, with the apparent assistance of an Italian contingent in UNIFIL, an identical statue was brought in. Peacekeepers, local residents and local priests put a new statue in its place, the website said.

The report published pictures of a statue offered by the Israeli army and a statue brought from Italy.

Previously, a video recording that circulated last Sunday showed an Israeli soldier destroying the original statue with a sledgehammer.

It drew widespread condemnation, including from the Israeli government and military, which later launched an investigation into the incident.

Later, the Israeli military said the soldier was withdrawn from the battlefield and jailed for 30 days.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, condemned the desecration of the statue as an unacceptable act and a moral failure, according to the statement.