Zvi Sukkot smashes Palestinian memorial in West Bank

Far-right Israeli lawmaker Zvi Sukkot smashed a Palestinian memorial in the occupied West Bank while under military escort, drawing condemnation from the Israeli army and politicians including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Footage circulating online showed Sukkot, who is also a settler and activist, using a sledgehammer on a monument commemorating “martyrs” in the Palestinian village of Madama in the northern West Bank while soldiers stood nearby.

Sukkot wrote on Facebook that he had demanded the military remove monuments in Madama and Burin that he described as commemorating terrorists. “Unfortunately, they remained in place. So I went there myself and took action to remove them,” he wrote with a video of the act.

The Israeli military said Sukkot and his aides had conducted a “tour” of the area with security provided by soldiers who had been diverted from operational duties. It said the participants acted “deceptively and manipulatively” and began demolishing one of the monuments without authorisation, outside the approved framework.

The military said soldiers reported the incident to commanders, who told them to stop the activity, and that the participants were quickly escorted out of the village. It said it viewed Sukkot’s actions “with the utmost severity”.

Netanyahu said the military “is the sovereign authority in Judea and Samaria”, using the Biblical term for the West Bank. He said taking the law into one’s own hands, especially by public figures, was reprehensible and hindered the military’s work.

Gadi Eisenkot, described as the principal challenger to Netanyahu ahead of October 27 elections, called Sukkot’s behaviour a disgrace and accused Netanyahu of allowing “anarchists” to endanger security and damage Israel’s standing.

Rami Nassar, head of Madama’s village council, said the memorial in the centre of the village included the names of people killed in a 1968 battle, the first and second intifadas, and up to the present day.

Violence in the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, has surged since the Gaza war began with Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.