Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Christmas day speech has warned against continued attacks on Nigerian Christians but without using the controversial word, ‘genocide’.
The term had sparked controversy when Netanyahu’s ally, US President Donald Trump, used it on the Nigerian security situation.
The Israeli leader’s declaration has again excited many Christians in Nigeria, though.
His stance formed part of his Christmas message late Wednesday night to Christians around the world.
Felicitating Christians, Netanyahu criticised global persecution of the sister faith, citing Middle Eastern countries of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey.
Outside the region, Nigeria was named. Like US President Donald Trump, his closest ally, Netanyahu blamed Islamists for the attacks.
“The persecution of Christians or members of any religion cannot and must not be tolerated, and Muslim militant displacement and attacks against Christians in Nigeria, that too must end, and it must end now,” the Israeli PM said.
Other international bodies like the European Union (EU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have condemned violence in Nigeria and framed the situation as a broader security challenge rather than targeted religious persecution.
