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A member of Israel's parliament has been filmed destroying a Palestinian memorial in an occupied West Bank village, using a sledgehammer while traveling with a military security detail. The lawmaker, Zvi Sukkot of the far-right Religious Zionism party, struck the stone monument repeatedly in the village of Madama, according to footage circulated after the incident.
In the recording, Sukkot justifies the destruction, saying that any structure glorifying terrorism cannot be allowed to remain standing. He then sets about the memorial alongside several companions who joined in the attack. Sukkot is no stranger to controversy, having carried out a series of provocative actions directed at Palestinians over the years.
The episode has provoked anger well beyond Palestinian communities, drawing rebukes from figures across Israel's own political landscape at a moment of heightened sensitivity over settler violence in the territory.
According to Rami Nasar, who heads Madama's village council, the monument dates to 2008 and was built to commemorate Palestinians who died at the battle of Karameh, a single day of fighting in 1968 that pitted Israeli forces against fighters from the Palestine Liberation Organization and Jordan. The memorial also honors those killed during the first and second intifada. Nasar stressed that it was meant to pay tribute to everyone who lost their lives in conflict with Israel, irrespective of their politics.
The Israeli military acknowledged that its troops were on hand throughout the incident. An IDF statement said Sukkot had been granted permission for a tour of monuments in the area, with soldiers assigned to protect the visit. However, the army insisted that the destruction of the memorial had not been sanctioned and that the lawmakers involved had misled officials about their intentions. Soldiers eventually intervened, halting Sukkot and removing his group from the village after informing their superiors of what had taken place.
The military's role has drawn particular scrutiny. On multiple past occasions, troops present at scenes of settler violence against Palestinians have been recorded doing nothing to stop it.
Tensions across the West Bank have been climbing steadily, with a surge in assaults by settlers on Palestinian residents in recent months prompting condemnation internationally. Madama, the site of Wednesday's incident, has itself endured repeated attacks from settlers in the past.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office moved to distance itself from the vandalism, declaring that vigilante action by public figures is reprehensible because it distracts the military from its core mission of fighting terrorism and incitement.
Netanyahu's chief challenger in the approaching general election, former military figure Gadi Eisenkot, went further, calling Sukkot's conduct shameful for anyone who aspires to lead. Eisenkot accused the prime minister of tolerating lawlessness, arguing that letting people like Sukkot act freely endangers settlement security and damages Israel's reputation abroad.
Sukkot found a defender in finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, who leads the Religious Zionism faction. Rather than condemning his party colleague, Smotrich saved his harshest words for what he described as the opposition left's frantic eagerness to attack Sukkot while ignoring terrorism itself.
Concerns within Israel's security establishment appear to be mounting as well. Major General Avi Bluth, the most senior Israeli commander in the West Bank, reportedly warned Netanyahu during a private meeting on Monday that the growing wave of settler violence risked triggering a far broader escalation in the region.
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