Israeli soldier vandalises statue of Jesus

NEW developments in the war in the Middle East sparked outrage when an image of an Israeli soldier vandalising a statue of a crucified Jesus Christ went viral.

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The Israeli army said Monday that it had determined an image circulating on social media that shows a soldier in Debl, a Christian village in south Lebanon, hitting the head of the statue with a sledgehammer, is authentic.

It added: “Following the completion of an initial examination regarding a photograph published earlier today of an IDF soldier harming a Christian symbol, it was determined that the photograph depicts an IDF soldier operating in southern Lebanon.”