Netanyahu alleges Lebanese Christians requested annexation by Israel

 Speaking to Fox News' The Sunday Briefing, Netanyahu insists that Lebanese Christian communities had voluntarily requested Israeli control because they viewed Israel as ‘protection’ against Hezbollah. The Prime Minister also claimed that Israel had been safeguarding other Christian communities as well, although he failed to specify or identify which ones.

These remarks were then swiftly contradicted by Christian villages in the Marjeyoun district of southern Lebanon. The local representatives rejected all reports insisting they had requested annexation, stating that they neither possessed the power nor the legal mandate to make decisions of that nature.

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The villages restated their commitment to remain on their land and stressed their loyalty to Lebanon, reaffirming their national identity and attachment to the Lebanese flag.

Several Christian communities in southern Lebanon have been affected by Israeli military operations, including shelling, airstrikes, displacement and damage to homes and infrastructure since the outbreak of hostilities.

Although some Christian communities have experienced partial or complete evacuations issued by Israel, many residents have chosen to remain in their villages to safeguard their homes, churches and agricultural land.

Throughout the conflict, the Israeli military has also contacted mayors and local officials in a number of Christian-majority villages, urging them not to allow Hezbollah fighters into their communities, who they proceeded to describe as "strangers"