Far-Right MK Zvi Sukkot Smashes Palestinian Memorial With Sledgehammer During IDF-Escorted West Bank Tour

On Tuesday, August 25, 2026, Religious Zionism MK Zvi Sukkot took a sledgehammer to a stone memorial listing 10 Palestinians — including members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine's armed wing — who died between 1930 and 2004, in the village of Madama south of Nablus in the northern West Bank, during a tour that had been coordinated with and escorted by the Israeli military. Sukkot posted video of the act, calling it a 'terror monument' and telling reporters it was 'a small taste' of what should follow. The IDF said Sukkot and his aides had acted 'deceptively and manipulatively,' stating that 'contrary to the coordination, the participants acted... in complete violation of the approved outline, and began demolishing one of the memorials'; the military said it regularly demolishes such memorials itself through authorized channels but criticized Sukkot for misusing the escorted tour rather than for the act of vandalism itself. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot both commented on the episode amid broader criticism of the government's handling of West Bank settler activity.