Far‑Right Israeli Lawmaker Damages Palestinian Memorial with Sledgehammer
A far‑right member of the Israeli parliament, Zvi Sukkot, used a sledgehammer to smash a Palestinian memorial in the West Bank village of Madama, despite being escorted by Israeli soldiers.
The incident was captured on video, showing Sukkot and a group of followers striking the stone memorial and shouting, “This is something we cannot leave standing here, because any place that glorifies terrorism, we must remove it.”
The memorial, erected in 2008, commemorates Palestinians killed in the 1968 Battle of Karameh and later in the First and Second Intifadas. The village council head Rami Nasar said the monument was meant to honour those lost in conflict with Israel, regardless of political affiliation.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that soldiers were present during the incident and that it had approved a tour of monuments for Sukkot, providing security. However, the IDF stated that the lawmaker and his companions “acted deceptively and without authorisation.” Soldiers reportedly stopped Sukkot’s group and escorted them out after reporting the breach to their commanders.
The episode follows a series of confrontations where Israeli troops have been filmed standing by without intervening. It has inflamed the West Bank’s tense security climate, where sporadic attacks by settlers on Palestinians have attracted international condemnation.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office condemned Sukkot’s actions, describing them as “reprehensible practice that prevents the IDF from focusing on its missions of combating terrorism and incitement to violence.”
Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu’s main rival in the upcoming elections, called the behavior a “disgrace” for anyone claiming to represent the public or to be a leader, and criticised Netanyahu for allowing “anarchists like Zvi Sukkot” to “do whatever they please.”
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, head of the Religious Zionism party, sharply criticised the left‑wing opposition’s rush to condemn Sukkot instead of addressing terrorism itself.
On Monday, Major General Avi Bluth—Israel’s senior West Bank military officer—told Netanyahu that the mounting settler violence could spark a major escalation, a warning highlighted by Israeli media.
