Melkite Catholic bishops express concern over Israeli demolitions in south Lebanon

A branch of the Catholic Church expresses deep concern over reports that Israel was demolishing civilian and religious buildings in parts of southern Lebanon under its control, following allegations that a convent had been bulldozed.

The Council of Melkite Greek Catholic Bishops in Lebanon urges the Lebanese government and the United Nations to protect the property of civilians and religious institutions in southern Lebanon, citing in particular the village of Yaroun, where officials said Israeli troops destroyed a Melkite convent earlier this month among other demolitions.

The bishops called the destruction of buildings, after residents of the area had evacuated, a “deep wound in the national and human conscience.”

The Israeli military on Saturday acknowledged it caused some damage to a “residential structure” at the Catholic convent while working to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure, but denied claims that it “demolished” the site with bulldozers.

Adib Ajaka, a Christian community leader in Yaroun, tells The Associated Press that the photos posted in the Israeli statement were of another building next to the convent that housed a clinic and archbishopric, and that the Israeli military had bulldozed the convent. He hands over a photograph showing rubble next to the clinic building that he says are the remains of the convent.

The Israeli military does not immediately respond to questions about the convent.

Adib, as well as a municipal official from Yaroun and Gladys Sabbagh, the superior general of the Basilian Salvatorian Sisters who had used the convent, all tell The Associated Press that according to news they received, the convent had been bulldozed while residents were evacuated from the area. The municipal official speaks on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

The French Catholic charity L’Oeuvre d’Orient condemns what it calls the “deliberate act of destruction of a place of worship and the systematic destruction of homes in southern Lebanon aimed at preventing the return of civilian populations.”