A video clip showed Israeli Member of Knesset Zvi Sukkot, from the “Religious Zionism” party, destroying a memorial in the village of Madama, south of Nablus in the West Bank, accompanied by settlers and under the protection of the Israeli army and police.
Sukkot said that he had previously asked the army command to remove what he described as “monuments commemorating terrorists” in the villages of Madama and Burin, noting that he decided to carry out the demolition himself after his request was not responded to.
According to the circulating clip, Sukkot appeared using a tool to demolish parts of the monument, while a number of settlers were with him, amid the deployment of members of the Israeli army and police at the site.
The incident sparked criticism from human rights groups and opposition circles in Israel, who considered that the intervention of a member of the Knesset in demolishing property inside the West Bank raises questions regarding the legal powers granted to representatives and the method of dealing with property and facilities in areas under military administration.
The presence of security forces during the demolition operation also raised additional criticism, especially regarding the role of the Israeli army and police in securing the movement of Sukkot and the settlers during the removal of the monument.
For their part, local Palestinian authorities and political factions denounced the incident and considered that targeting the memorial constitutes an attack on the symbols and memory of Palestinian society, demanding that such actions be stopped and those responsible be held accountable.
Madama is located south of Nablus, in an area that periodically witnesses friction between Palestinians and settlers, in addition to movements of Israeli forces, demolitions and removal of facilities according to military decisions or under the pretext of their existence without permits.
The memorial incident brings to the forefront the debate regarding Palestinian property and facilities in the West Bank, and the mechanisms for dealing with them, especially when field movements overlap with the activity of settlers or Israeli political figures.
