Afrasianet - Badi'a Al Sawan - Between the rubble of Lebanon's churches and the death alleys in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military has moved with all its weight to restore a "moral image" that was scratched by a soldier who smashed a statue of "Christ" in southern Lebanon amid global rejection of the attack, while at the same time blessing the hands of its soldiers as it infiltrated the blood and symbols of Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
This paradox is not written by us, but rather resounding confessions that came out of "inside the Israeli house" to open the black box of Tel Aviv's policy of "applied silence" regarding cruel atrocities and violations of human dignity.
Selective punishment
The paradox was evident in the "selectivity of accountability," and in an attempt to make a comparison, Haaretz said that the killing of Palestinians and the destruction in Gaza and the West Bank was less sympathetic than the destruction of a statue of Jesus Christ by an Israeli soldier in southern Lebanon.
In a recent example, there was silence about the blood of the Bani Odeh family in the West Bank, four of whom were shot dead by Israeli forces who targeted their car in the town of Tammun on March 15, yet the Justice Ministry's Investigation Unit found it necessary to question the officers involved in the killing, let alone hold them accountable.
The misconduct of Israeli security forces in the West Bank only gets serious attention when it is directed at American journalists, not Palestinians.
This reality, documented by Haaretz, is that accountability is only present if the act may provoke international responses, or if the victim is a holder of American citizenship, and is completely absent when the victim is a Palestinian human being who has no voice in the corridors of international politics.
"Netanyahu's policies — and he shares this with authoritarian rulers around the world and throughout history — rely on external enemies to gain blind domestic support," the newspaper commented.
Organized crime
Analysts point out that the killings and attacks in the West Bank are not natural or isolated phenomena, as Israel can prevent or control them, but they are the result of government support and a decision supported by Israel's major military institutions.
Haaretz reported that what is happening in the West Bank reveals a complete lack of anxiety, as settlers invade the lands of Palestinian villages and communities daily, often accompanied by armed men serving in the Regional Defense Brigades.
Even if these "frictions" are deliberately made with the aim of evicting Palestinians from their homes, they continue without interference from the authorities or any attempt at law enforcement, according to the newspaper.
Since the beginning of the Gaza war, 13 Palestinians have been killed by settler attacks and 12 by direct Israeli fire. In most cases, the shooters, who are reservist settlers, are not arrested, but are interrogated and released.
At the same time, the newspaper revealed "organized massacres" by dozens of masked young settlers using batons and incendiary devices in lightning attacks, leaving the area in a matter of minutes without any arrest or accountability.
In these cases, security forces are absent from the scene and arrive only after everything is over, making arrests rare. Although recent condemnations from the government and the army chief of staff have come as a result of U.S. pressure. On the contrary, the frequency of attacks has grown significantly.
The newspaper concluded that these attacks will continue as long as the government does not decide to put an end to this phenomenon, which clearly seems not in the interest of the current government.
Annihilation live
The atrocities of the war in Gaza and the West Bank were not just reports reported behind closed doors, but "live genocide" that Israeli soldiers themselves displayed in front of the world, turning TikTok, Instagram and Telegram platforms into arenas to show off in Gaza.
The soldiers boast of photographing themselves storming Gaza homes, trying on residents' underwear, celebrating the bombing, and posing next to revenge graffiti or next to the bodies of dead Palestinians, and Haaretz said that while the military spoke out against the posts, officials failed to condemn them.
They continued to target Palestinian civilians on several religious occasions, especially during the month of Ramadan, deliberately storming their homes during the hours of Suhoor.
In one case reported by Haaretz, a video showed Israeli soldiers sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee in Sde Timan prison in southern Israel.
However, Netanyahu called the video a "propaganda attack on Israel" and a "terrible slander" of the soldiers involved, a sign that the duplication did not stop at the killing but extended to the protection of those involved in moral crimes. While the "statue" soldier was being punished, the chief of staff was approving the return of soldiers accused of the assault documented in Sde Timan prison to military service.
This means that the image that went viral of the statue being smashed is only the latest example of footage of Israeli soldiers destroying or looting property, and it is not the only incident.
Phobia of the West and the Significance of Symbols
The moment the soldier's hammer slammed into the religious symbol, Tel Aviv's political radars sensed the danger of a "mine" in its relationship with the Vatican and all Western capitals.
Even Haaretz noted with surprise that Netanyahu, who has been accustomed to silence about the military's abuses, was quick to publicly condemn the matter, writing, "I was stunned and saddened to learn that a soldier had damaged a Catholic religious icon. I condemn this act in the strongest terms."
The newspaper said that this rush to condemn reflects a deep awareness that harming Christian sanctities is a "red line," which increases international scrutiny of the Israeli government's relationship with Christians.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar went on to condemn the incident and vowed to take strict action on the incident, which was later translated into an IDF statement confirming the opening of an investigation through the "chain of command."
Despite the official promise to hold those involved accountable, the ceiling of the proceedings came to a halt when the soldier and his fellow photographer were announced to be removed from combat duties, with only 30 days of military detention, in a punishment that appeared to absorb the anger of international public opinion, according to analysts.
Sharp attack
The March crisis still reverberates in the Vatican, when Israeli police prevented the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzabala, and the Custodian of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Patton, from practicing religious services in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre during Palm Sunday celebrations.
The incident turned into a "diplomatic scandal" and caused an international uproar, forcing the Israeli army to make the necessary arrangements for the Mass to be held at the Christian holy site.
While the Israeli military tried to absorb the anger by publishing a photo of a replacement statue erected in coordination with the local community in the Lebanese town of Dubal, the international Christian response was sharp, with Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzabala expressing "deep displeasure and unconditional condemnation" and calling the act a serious insult.
But the most scathing attack came from Archbishop Vincenzo Balia, who sent a direct message to Netanyahu, saying that "Jesus went to Tyre and Sidon in southern Lebanon, but he did not go to kill or destroy, but to double bread and heal the sick," a phrase that has torpedoed the Israeli narrative that tries to justify the war as a defense of civilization's values.
Israel's fear did not stop at Rome but spilled over to Washington, with U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee calling for "swift, harsh and public consequences," while the U.S. right called the scenes "horrific."
Ultimately, analysts read this official Israeli alert as panic at the loss of the "Christian right" or an attempt to provoke the Vatican, which could cost it more than the hundreds of children killed by the Israeli army in Lebanon and Gaza, as long as these crimes take place far from the centers of diplomatic influence that shake for symbols and do not act for human beings.
