Israeli soldier smashes Jesus statue, as cabinet approves 34 West Bank settlements

A photo of an Israeli soldier striking a statue of Jesus in Debel, a Christian village in southern Lebanon, landed at the same moment Israel was expanding settlement plans in the West Bank, a pairing that hardened the sense that escalation was outrunning restraint.

The image, which circulated online over the weekend of April 19-20, showed a uniformed soldier hitting the crucifix or Jesus statue with what appeared to be an axe or sledgehammer. Israel’s military said it would investigate and later said the conduct “completely deviated” from IDF orders and values. Reuters reported that two soldiers were removed from combat duty and sentenced to 30 days of military detention. Benjamin Netanyahu said he was “stunned and saddened” and promised harsh disciplinary action.

The photo drew condemnation from Israeli leaders, the United States and church leaders. Catholic leaders in the Holy Land issued what Reuters described as unreserved condemnation, and a new crucifix or statue was reportedly installed in Debel to replace the damaged one. The episode was not just a disciplinary matter inside the IDF. It reverberated in a Christian village in southern Lebanon, where symbols matter and every public insult can quickly fold into wider cross-border anger.

At the same time, Israel’s security cabinet approved 34 new settlements in the occupied West Bank on or around April 9. Peace Now and Reuters reported the move, and The Times of Israel said it was the largest number of settlements approved at one time by any Israeli government. Peace Now said the current government’s decisions brought the total to 102 settlements approved since it took office, compared with 127 official settlements in the West Bank before this government.

The approvals came amid a rise in settler attacks on Palestinians across the occupied territory. The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said in March that Israel had accelerated unlawful settlement expansion and annexation of large parts of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, forcibly displacing more than 36,000 Palestinians during the reporting period through October 31, 2025. UN OCHA said injuries during settler attacks had surged in 2026, with about 360 Palestinians injured by Israeli settlers by April 10, almost matching annual totals for 2023 and 2024. It also said more than 830 Palestinians were injured in 2025, an average of about two injuries per day.

Taken together, the statue damage in Debel and the settlement approvals in the West Bank point to the same problem: Washington can condemn, but it has so far shown little ability to stop actions on the ground that deepen mistrust in both Lebanon and the occupied territories.