During a Fox News interview on Sunday, Netanyahu stated that "some Christian villages in Lebanon, some of them have actually asked to be annexed to Israel, because we protect them from Hezbollah fanatics." The claim was presented as established fact. It is not. It can be traced directly to a three-day-old tweet from an Israeli Channel 14 correspondent, which was itself based on a redacted phone call conducted by one of Israel's most documented disinformation operatives.
The chain of the claim begins on July 2, when Channel 14 correspondent Tamir Morag tweeted that "an unusual appeal has been made by Christian leaders from South Lebanon, requesting to be annexed by Israel." Morag described unnamed "leaders from the local Christian community" approaching unnamed "IDF representatives" to request annexation and Israeli citizenship for approximately 20,000 Christians living in Israeli-occupied southern Lebanese villages.
Morag acknowledged the sensitivity of the claim, noting that announcing annexation would "contradict the memorandum of understanding reached with the government in Beirut." He framed the claim as a tool to counter what he described as a "blood libel" that Israel targets Christian Lebanese. No evidence of these "leaders" approaching Israeli officials was presented. No names. No documentation.
The same evening, Channel 14 broadcast a segment in which Israeli journalist Edy Cohen played a phone call, with the voice of the supposed Lebanese Christian speaker fully redacted, purportedly from a man named "George" from southern Lebanon. The conversation:
Edy Cohen: "There are voices demanding, like yourself, that the Israeli army stays. But isn't that occupation?"
George (voice redacted): "No, this is not occupation. Occupation is what comes and kills you. Hezbollah is the occupation that is waging Iran's war on Lebanese soil. That is the occupation. And Hezbollah is the one attacking the state of Israel and Israel is defending itself. We are asking the Israeli army to stay and not leave."
A redacted voice call with a man named "George" constitutes the entire evidential basis for the claim that "leaders of the local Christian community approached IDF representatives."
Edy Cohen, the journalist who conducted and presented this call, is not a neutral reporter. His account is one of many Israeli accounts in the Arabic online sphere that systematically target Arab audiences, whitewashing Israel's image while distorting and casting a shadow over Palestinians, with the calculated effort also designed to sow division within Arab nations and communities. He uses fabrications, rumors, and half truths. He exploits some insignificant rumors that some people spread, promotes and exaggerates them, and builds on them. Cohen was born in Beirut to a Lebanese Jewish family and emigrated to Israel, giving him Arabic fluency that he uses specifically to reach Arab audiences with Israeli narratives. He works with the Israeli government and previously worked with the Israeli Prime Minister's Bureau. Multiple academic studies have documented his account as part of Israel's digital influence operation targeting Arab public opinion.
This is the chain. A redacted phone call by a documented Israeli influence operator becomes a Channel 14 correspondent's tweet about unnamed "community leaders approaching IDF representatives," which becomes Netanyahu's statement to Fox News that "Christian villages in Lebanon have actually asked to be annexed to Israel." At no stage in this chain is there any verifiable evidence: no named Christian leaders, no documented approach to Israeli officials, no statement from any Lebanese Christian organization, no independent verification of any kind.
Netanyahu's Fox News claim also conveniently serves Israel's stated goal of fueling internal Lebanese division. Israeli officials have long expressed hope for civil strife between Lebanese communities as a means of fracturing resistance and facilitating expanded occupation. A narrative that places Lebanese Christians in alliance with Israeli occupation and in opposition to Lebanese Shiites serves precisely this purpose, regardless of whether the claim is true.
