An Israeli soldier was sentenced to 21 days in military detention for placing a cigarette in the mouth of a Marian statue in Debel, Lebanon.
A second soldier who photographed the act was sentenced to 14 days.
Israel’s military “respects freedom of religion and worship, as well as holy sites and religious symbols of all religions and communities,” said Lt. Col. Ariella Mazor, spokeswoman for the Israeli Defense Forces.