Israeli MP smashes West Bank memorial under army escort

Far-right Israeli lawmaker Zvi Sukkot used a sledgehammer to demolish a Palestinian memorial in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, an act carried out under the escort of Israeli soldiers.

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A few days ago, I demanded that the military take action to remove the monuments commemorating terrorists in the murderers’ villages of Madama and Burin. Unfortunately, they remained in place. So, I went there myself and took action to remove them.

The monument, located in the Palestinian village of Madama in the northern West Bank, commemorated individuals referred to as "martyrs." Footage shared online shows Sukkot, who is also a settler and activist, smashing the structure while soldiers stood by. Sukkot posted on Facebook, stating he took action because the military had not removed the monuments commemorating "terrorists" in what he called "murderers' villages."

The Israeli military, however, issued a statement clarifying that Sukkot and his aides had conducted a "tour" of the area with security provided by IDF soldiers. The military asserted that, contrary to prior coordination, the participants acted deceptively and without authorization, deviating from the approved plan and proceeding to demolish the monument. Soldiers reportedly alerted their commanders, who ordered the activity to cease, and the participants were quickly escorted out of the village.

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Contrary to the agreed-upon coordination, the participants acted deceptively and manipulatively, without authorisation, departing entirely from the approved framework, and began demolishing one of the monuments in Madama.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the incident by stating that the military holds sovereign authority in Judea and Samaria, the Biblical term for the occupied West Bank. He condemned taking the law into one's own hands, particularly by public figures, describing it as a "reprehensible practice" that distracts the IDF from its counter-terrorism missions.

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Taking the law into one’s own hands, especially when it involves public figures, is a reprehensible practice that prevents the IDF from focusing on its missions of combatting terrorism and incitement to violence.

In a separate but related development, Israeli forces began evicting a vocational training center run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in an east Jerusalem suburb. This action follows repeated warnings from UNRWA about Israeli authorities threatening its Qalandia training center, which has provided vocational training to approximately 340 Palestinians annually since 1952. Netanyahu's office stated the evacuation was in accordance with a law passed and his directive.

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In accordance with my directive and following the law we passed, today the evacuation of the UNRWA compound in Kafr Aqab in Jerusalem has begun.