RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesThe memorial included the names of those killed in a 1968 battle and the first and second intifadas.
Israeli lawmaker Zvi Sukkot, under army escort, destroyed a Palestinian memorial in the West Bank, an act condemned by the Israeli military as unauthorised and misuse of security protection. The military stated soldiers stopped the demolition and quickly removed Sukkot and his aides, viewing the action with "utmost severity" and outside approved coordination. Israeli politicians, including Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot, criticised Sukkot's behaviour, highlighting risks to security and Israel's international reputation amid rising West Bank violence. AI generated
Ramallah , Palestinian Territories – A far-right Israeli lawmaker took a sledgehammer to a Palestinian memorial in the occupied West Bank on Aug 25 while under military escort, a move that was later condemned both by the army and Israeli politicians.
Footage circulating online showed Zvi Sukkot, who is also a settler and activist, smashing a monument commemorating “martyrs” in the Palestinian village of Madama in the northern West Bank, while soldiers stood nearby.
“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,” Sukkot posted on Facebook, along with a video of the act.
When contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said Sukkot and his aides had conducted a “tour” of the area “with security provided by IDF soldiers who had been diverted from their operational activities for this purpose”.
“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,” it added.
It said soldiers reported the incident to their commanders, who told them to stop the activity and “the participants were quickly escorted out of the village”.
The military said it viewed Sukkot’s actions “with the utmost severity”, adding they “constituted a misuse of the protection provided by security forces to act entirely outside the scope of the approved framework”.
The filmed act took place as Israel prepares for elections on Oct 27, although even some fellow right-wing lawmakers took their distance.
“Zvi Sukkot – like any other Knesset member – is not the sovereign in the territories of Judea and Samaria,” Foreign Minister Gideon Saar posted on X, using the Biblical term for the West Bank.
Gadi Eisenkot, who has emerged as the principal challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in upcoming elections, slammed the act.
“Zvi Sukkot’s behaviour is a disgrace to anyone who presumes to represent the public and be a leader,” he wrote on X.
“Netanyahu... is allowing anarchists like Zvi Sukkot and his ilk to do as they please, endangering security in the settlements and damaging Israel’s standing in the world,” he added.
Rami Nassar, the head of Madama’s village council, told AFP the memorial at the centre of the village included the names of those killed in a 1968 battle, the first and second intifadas, and up until the present day.
Israel often accuses the Palestinians of glorifying attacks on Israelis.
Violence in the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, has surged since the Gaza war began with Hamas’s Oct 7, 2023, attack on Israel. AFP
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