Netanyahu says some Lebanese Christian villages have asked to be annexed by Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that some Christian villages in southern Lebanon, where the Jewish state currently controls large swathes of territory, have "asked to be annexed" by Israel in order to be protected from Hezbollah fighters.

Speaking on "The Sunday Briefing" programme on the American Fox News channel, Netanyahu said: "The Christian villages in Lebanon, some of them have actually asked to be annexed to Israel, because we protect them from Hezbollah, from the Hezbollah extremists who want to kill them, and we do the same for Christians everywhere."