Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed on Sunday that some Christian villages in southern Lebanon had requested annexation by Israel for protection against Hezbollah militants. He made the comments during an interview with Fox News show "The Sunday Briefing".
"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 the network.
Netanyahu did not identify which Christian villages he was referring to. The prime minister's assertion drew swift denial from local leaders in Lebanon's Christian-majority areas.
Hanna al-Amil, mayor of the Christian village of Rmeish, rejected the claim outright through Lebanese public broadcaster NNA. He called the idea "absolutely out of the question".
Al-Amil said that fifteen Christian towns had released a statement two days prior disavowing Netanyahu's allegations. The villages had reaffirmed their commitment to remaining on their land and stressed their "loyalty to their national identity" and "attachment to their Lebanese flag".
Since fighting erupted in March, Christian villages in southern Lebanon have faced Israeli shelling, airstrikes, displacement and destruction of infrastructure. Despite this, most have remained populated after residents rejected evacuation orders to defend their homes, churches and farms.
The Israeli military has contacted mayors and local officials in Christian-majority villages by phone, instructing them to keep out "strangers"—a reference to Hezbollah fighters. Hezbollah launched rocket attacks on Israel in March following the killing of Iran's supreme leader in strikes involving the United States and Israel.
Israel responded with extensive airstrikes and sent troops into southern Lebanon, where they now occupy border territory. A US-brokered ceasefire was meant to lead toward ending hostilities, though clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters have continued.
At a state ceremony on Sunday, Netanyahu restated that Israeli forces would stay in southern Lebanon "as long as necessary in order to protect the residents of the north and all the citizens of Israel". Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, Israel's military chief, visited troops stationed near Beaufort Castle that same day.
Zamir pledged the army would "continue to operate decisively to remove threats from Lebanese territory". The general's visit underscored Israel's commitment to sustained military operations in the region.
Netanyahu also used his Fox News appearance to address tensions with US President Donald Trump over a separate Iran deal agreement. "Let me say that we have an excellent relationship, which is defined, as I said, between allies," Netanyahu said.
"Ninety-nine percent of the time, we see eye-to-eye, but as any, in any family, in any close friendship, there are sometimes differences of opinion, and we discuss them openly," he added. "I can tell you, in a free spirit, and usually we resolve them too."
Netanyahu's comments followed Trump's remark to Axios that Netanyahu "knows who the boss is". The US president made that statement a day before the Israeli leader's television interview.
