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The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Tuesday announced that the soldier who destroyed a statue of Jesus<\/strong> in Lebanon has been sentenced to 30 days in jail.<\/p>\n On Sunday, an image of the appeared on social media and quickly went viral. In it, a soldier could be seen smashing the face of the statue with what appeared to be a sledgehammer. Local reports of the incident claimed it occurred in the Maronite Christian village of Debel.<\/p>\n Shortly after the photo surfaced, the IDF confirmed its authenticity<\/a>, condemned the actions of the soldier, and announced that an investigation had been launched.<\/p>\n In a statement released Tuesday morning, the IDF detailed the outcome of that investigation, saying:<\/p>\n The inquiry found that during IDF activity in the area of the Christian village of Debel in southern Lebanon, an IDF soldier damaged a Christian religious symbol while another soldier photographed the act. Six additional soldiers were present at the scene and did not act to stop the incident or report it. The IDF expresses deep regret over the incident and emphasizes that its operations in Lebanon are directed solely against the Hezbollah terrorist organization and other terrorist groups, and not against Lebanese civilians.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n Additionally, the soldier who damaged the statue \u2014 as well as the one who took the photo \u2014 had been sentenced to \u201c30 days of military detention.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe remaining troops who stood by have been summoned for clarification discussions that will be held later on,\u201d the statement continued, \u201cafter which further command-level measures will be determined.\u201d<\/p>\n The IDF also announced that the statue had been replaced.<\/p>\n \u2014<\/p>\n The post Israel Hands Out 30-Day Jail Sentence to Soldier Who Attacked Jesus Statue<\/a> first appeared on Mediaite<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
The inquiry determined that the soldiers\u2019 conduct completely deviated from IDF orders and values.<\/p>\n