Far-right Israeli lawmaker damages Palestinian memorial with sledgehammer

Far-right Israeli lawmaker damages Palestinian memorial with sledgehammer A far‑right member of Israel’s parliament severely damaged a Palestinian memorial using a sledgehammer in the occupied West Bank while under military escort. The act provoked strong condemnation from Palestinians and drew criticism across the Israeli political spectrum. Video footage shows Zvi Sukkot, a lawmaker from the far‑right Religious Zionism party, and several others striking the stone memorial in the Palestinian village of Madama. In the recording Sukkot—who has a history of provocative anti‑Palestinian actions—states, “This is thing we cannot permission lasting here, due to the fact that immoderate spot that glorifies terrorism, we indispensable region it.” Rami Nasar, head of the Madama village council, said the monument was erected in 2008 to commemorate Palestinians killed in the Battle of Karameh, a day‑long clash in 1968 between Israeli forces and fighters from the PLO and Jordan. He added that the memorial also honors Palestinians who died during the first and second intifadas, noting it was intended to honor those killed in struggle with Israel regardless of their political affiliation. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its soldiers were present during the incident. The military said it had authorized a tour of monuments in the area for Sukkot and was providing security. However, the IDF asserted that Sukkot and the others acted deceitfully and without authorization, adding that soldiers eventually stopped Sukkot and escorted his group out of Madama after reporting the incident to their commanders. The IDF noted that in several previous settler‑violence incidents, soldiers have been filmed standing by without intervening. The episode has heightened tensions in the West Bank, where settler attacks on Palestinians have increased in recent months and attracted international condemnation. Madama itself has been the target of multiple settler attacks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement condemning Sukkot’s behavior: “Taking the instrumentality into one’s own hands, particularly when it involves nationalist figures, is simply a reprehensible signifier that prevents the IDF from focusing on its missions of combating coercion and incitement to violence.” Netanyahu’s main rival in the upcoming general election, Gadi Eisenkot, called Sukkot’s conduct “a disgrace for anyone who claims to represent the nationalist and be a leader.” Eisenkot also criticized Netanyahu for “allowing anarchists like Zvi Sukkot and his ilk to do whatever they please, endangering security in the settlements and harming Israel’s standing in the world.” But Bezalel Smotrich, the minister who heads the Religious Zionism party to which Sukkot belongs, directed his sharpest criticism at what he described as the “frantic unreserved of the left‑wing absorption to condemn Sukkot rather than coercion itself.” On Monday, the most senior Israeli military officer in the West Bank, Major General Avi Bluth, was reported by Israeli media to have told Netanyahu in a closed‑door meeting that the growing settler presence could spark a major escalation.