RZP members accuse Sukkot of causing party's 'political suicide' by destroying West Bank monument

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has reportedly rebuked MK Zvi Sukkot for demolishing a monument in the Palestinian village of Kafr Madama, near Nablus, without proper authorization. Smotrich allegedly instructed Sukkot not to repeat such actions and emphasized the need for official approval.

The incident has caused internal friction within the Religious Zionist Party (RZP). Ohad Tal, another RZP member, questioned Sukkot's move in the party's WhatsApp group, asking if it was a coordinated campaign strategy or an act of "political suicide."

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every child who sees every day a giant monument that glorifies murderers of Jews will dream of being a terrorist.

Sukkot, however, defended his actions on X/Twitter, asserting that monuments glorifying "murderers of Jews" inspire terrorism. He claimed to have repeatedly appealed to the IDF to remove such "terror monuments" before taking matters into his own hands. He described the demolition as a "small taste" of his intentions, stating, "There is no place for support of terror in the State of Israel!"

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There is no place for support of terror in the State of Israel!

The IDF also condemned Sukkot's actions, confirming that troops were present to guard him and his aides during what he termed a 'memorial tour.' The military stated that participants acted deceitfully and manipulatively, violating the approved framework by demolishing the monument. While the IDF claimed soldiers were instructed to intervene, footage did not show this. The IDF spokesperson noted the absence of a photographer on such assignments, hindering their ability to provide visual evidence of intervention.

Several non-RZP government officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, and B'Yachad leader Naftali Bennett, also criticized Sukkot's actions.

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Contrary to the coordination, the participants acted deceitfully and manipulatively, without authority and in complete violation of the approved framework, and began demolishing one of the memorials in the village of Madama.