Israeli lawmaker smashes West Bank memorial in escorted visit
Tzvi Sukkot filmed himself and aides striking a memorial in Madama; the IDF says the tour was authorised but the behaviour was inappropriate and stopped.
Israeli far‑right lawmaker Tzvi Sukkot and several associates smashed a village monument to Palestinians, including militants, in Madama in the occupied West Bank on August 25, 2026, footage published by local media shows. The group entered the village accompanied by soldiers from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF); video circulating online depicts Sukkot and other men striking the memorial while some soldiers stand nearby.
The IDF later said the visit had been authorised but that Sukkot and his companions acted "deceptively and manipulatively" once there, beginning to damage the monument. Military officials said that when soldiers realised what was happening they reported up the chain of command and ordered the delegation removed from the village.
What the plaque names and why Sukkot intervened
Sukkot himself posted video of the incident and wrote that he had repeatedly asked the IDF to take down monuments across the West Bank that glorify Palestinian militants. The memorial in Madama bore the names of ten villagers with death dates ranging from 1930 to 2004; a faded inscription at the base read: "A gift from the comrades of the People's Front," a reference to the People's Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
Among the names on the plaque were Yaman Tayeb Ali Faraj, whom Sukkot says was involved in a 2003 suicide attack at the Geha junction in central Israel that killed four people and wounded more than 20, and Shadi Nassar, a Palestinian suicide bomber blamed for an attack in 2002 that wounded 14 at a hotel in the settlement of Ariel. Faraj was described on the memorial as a "senior commander" and was killed by an IDF helicopter strike in July 2004 while fleeing arrest.
Photos published after the incident show the monument still standing but significantly damaged. The IDF defended its practice of demolishing structures and symbols judged to incite violence when authorised, saying such actions are part of the fight against terrorism and that it plans further operations of this kind. Local Palestinians say Madama has been targeted in recent months by attacks from settlers; residents reported damage to the village electricity network this month and several people were hospitalised after a violent settler assault in May.
Photo: printskrin / H
