Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that some Christian villages in southern Lebanon had “asked to be annexed to Israel” so that they could be protected from Hezbollah militants.
Lebanon was drawn into the wider war in the Middle East on March 2 when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader in US-Israeli strikes.
Israel responded with massive air strikes and a ground invasion of southern Lebanon, where its troops now occupy territory near the border.
“Christian villages in Lebanon, some of them have actually asked to be annexed to Israel, because we protect them against the Hezbollah, Hezbollah fanatics who want to kill them, and we do the same things with Christians everywhere,” Netanyahu told Fox News’ The Sunday Briefing.
Netanyahu did not name the Christian villages he said had made such a request.
The mayor of the Christian village of Rmeish, Hanna al-Amil, was quoted by Lebanese public broadcaster NNA as denying Netanyahu’s claim.