Israeli Lawmaker Smashes Palestinian Memorial in West Bank

Israeli lawmaker Zvi Sukkot, a member of the far-right Religious Zionist Party, used a sledgehammer to damage a Palestinian memorial in the village of Madama in the northern West Bank on Tuesday. Sukkot was escorted by Israel Defense Forces soldiers who had been diverted from operational duties to provide security for a formally approved memorial tour. While video footage showed soldiers standing nearby during the attack, the military claims the demolition was unauthorized and that troops intervened within minutes to remove the group.

Sukkot defended his actions as a challenge to the glorification of terrorism, claiming he acted because the military ignored his requests to remove the monument. The incident occurred one day after Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that nationalist crime could ignite the region.

The act drew broad condemnation from Israeli leadership. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the behavior unacceptable, and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar asserted that Sukkot is not the sovereign authority in the territories of Judea and Samaria. Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot described the behavior as a disgrace and accused Netanyahu of allowing anarchists to endanger security and damage the international standing of Israel.