Haaretz: Palestinian deaths get less empathy than destroyed Jesus statue

The deaths of Palestinians and the widespread destruction in Gaza and the West Bank have received far less empathy from Israeli officials than the destruction of a Jesus statue by an Israeli soldier in southern Lebanon, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported. Video footage circulated Sunday showed a soldier smashing a statue of Jesus with a pickaxe in the town of Debel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was “stunned and saddened,” and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the act “grave and disgraceful.” The army removed the soldier from combat duty and sentenced him to 30 days of military detention.

Double standard in official responses

Haaretz noted that the same officials have shown indifference to soldiers’ misconduct during military operations in Gaza and the West Bank. During Israel’s two-year war in Gaza, where more than 72,000 Palestinians have been killed, soldiers frequently posted videos on TikTok, Instagram, and Telegram showing themselves inside Gaza homes, trying on residents’ underwear, celebrating bombings, and posing beside dead bodies. While the army spoke out against such posts, officials failed to condemn them. In one instance, video showed soldiers sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee at Sde Teiman prison. Netanyahu called the video a “propaganda attack” and a “terrible libel” against the soldiers. On April 16, Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir approved the return to service of those accused.

West Bank killings ignored

On March 15, four members of the Bani Odeh family were killed when Israeli forces opened fire on their car in Tammun in the West Bank. The Israeli Justice Ministry unit responsible for investigating police misconduct did not even question the officers involved. Haaretz said misconduct by Israeli security forces in the West Bank only draws serious consideration when directed against American journalists—not Palestinians. “Netanyahu's politics – and he has this in common with autocrats around the world – rely on outside enemies for blind domestic support,” Haaretz commented. “Those ‘enemies’ – flesh and blood, victims of abuse – receive less empathy than a piece of wood.”