Far-right Israeli lawmaker Zvi Sukkot, a member of the Religious Zionism party, damaged a Palestinian memorial in the occupied West Bank with a sledgehammer while under military escort, an act that has drawn criticism from Palestinians and across Israel's political spectrum.
Video footage showed Sukkot and others striking the stone monument in the Palestinian village of Madama. Sukkot stated, "This is something we cannot leave standing here, because any place that glorifies terrorism, we must remove it." Rami Nasar, head of the Madama village council, said the monument was erected in 2008 to commemorate Palestinians killed in the 1968 battle of Karameh and those killed during the first and second intifadas.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that soldiers were present during the incident. The military stated that Sukkot's tour of monuments in the area was approved and security was provided, but that Sukkot and his group acted deceptively and without authorization. Soldiers eventually stopped Sukkot and escorted his group out of Madama after reporting the incident to their commanders.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued a statement criticizing Sukkot's actions, calling the practice of taking the law into one's own hands "reprehensible." Netanyahu's rival, Gadi Eisenkot, described Sukkot's behavior as "a disgrace" and criticized Netanyahu for allowing such actions, which he argued endanger security and harm Israel's international standing.
However, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who leads the Religious Zionism party, directed criticism at the opposition, accusing them of focusing on condemning Sukkot rather than on "terrorism itself."
The incident has heightened tensions in the West Bank, where settler violence against Palestinians has increased in recent months. Madama has been a target of several settler attacks.