Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is working on an agenda to support beleaguered Christian communities in Nigeria.
Netanyahu spoke on Friday during a meeting with evangelical community leaders in Florida while touting Israel as the only country in the word capable of protecting Christians.
“I see the battle against us and the battle against our Judeo-Christian tradition, basically being waged around the globe. And it’s waged primarily by two forces — radical Shiite Islam and radical Sunni Islam,” he said.
“That means the axis that is led by Iran, much battered, admittedly, but still there, and the Sunni axis led by the Muslim Brotherhood, which permeates everything.
”They go to Europe, they go to the United States, they go to Africa, Nigeria. And we are conscious of the fact that Christians are being persecuted — across the Middle East, in Syria, in Lebanon, in Nigeria, in Turkey and beyond.
“We’re also aware of the fact, as you are, that one country protects the Christian community — enables it to grow, defends it, and makes sure that it thrive — and that country is Israel. There is no other. None.
“We are joining an effort to have basically a united nations or countries that support Christian communities around the world — beleaguered communities who deserve our help.
“Just as you are helping us, we want to help back; and we’re capable of doing this. In Africa, with intel, in the Middle East, with a lot of means that I won’t itemize each one.
“This is what our agenda is; it’s a main part of our agenda.”
Netanyahu’s remarks came a day after his meeting with US President Donald Trump who had announced air strikes in Nigeria on Christmas Day in fulfilment of his military intervention threat to stop an alleged Christian persecution in the country.
On the same day as the strikes, Netanyahu said attacks on Christians in Nigeria has to come to an end.
Israel is the only country to publicly side with the US on its claim of a “Christian persecution” in Nigeria.
Both countries are known to be each other’s close allies.
