The IDF issued an unusually sharp rebuke Tuesday of Religious Zionism lawmaker Zvi Sukkot after he was filmed smashing a monument in the Palestinian village of Madama near Nablus during a military-secured visit, accusing him of misleading troops, exceeding his authority and exploiting the force assigned to protect him.
Sukkot, chairman of the Knesset Education Committee and a subcommittee dealing with the West Bank, entered the village with aides and his personal security guard as part of a tour coordinated with the Knesset security officer and the IDF.
Religious Zionism lawmaker Zvi Sukkot filmed taking part in the destruction of a monument in the Palestinian village of Madama
But according to the military, the authorization covered only the tour itself, not the destruction of any monument.
“Contrary to the coordination, the participants acted deceitfully and manipulatively, without authority and in complete violation of the approved framework, and began destroying one of the monuments in the village of Madama,” the IDF said.
The military said troops assigned to operational missions in the area had been diverted to secure the visit and “were put at unnecessary risk,” calling Sukkot’s conduct “serious” and accusing him of exploiting the security escort for an action that had never been approved.
According to a security official, the IDF had recommended postponing the tour altogether because of recent tensions in the area and had offered Sukkot an alternative: military personnel would document the monuments and provide him with the material.
Sukkot nevertheless insisted on going ahead with the visit, the official said, prompting the army to allocate forces for his protection.
Once at the site, Sukkot took a hammer and began striking the monument. Soldiers stopped the activity after consulting their commanders and removed him and his entourage from the village.
Sukkot said he acted because the military had failed to remove monuments that he said glorified Palestinians involved in attacks against Israelis.
Settlers and MK Zvi Sukkot vandalize a memorial to Palestinian 'martyrs' in the village of Madama, south of Nablus
“A few days ago I demanded that the army act to remove the monuments commemorating terrorists in the murderous villages of Madama and Burin, but unfortunately they remained in place,” he said. “So I came myself and acted to remove them.”
He added that Israel could not allow those who attacked Jews and IDF soldiers to be presented as heroes to future generations.
Sukkot said the monuments honored Yaman Tayeb Ali Faraj, whom he said was involved in dispatching a terrorist for a 2003 attack at the Geha Junction, and Hamdan Hussein Mahmoud al-Najjar, who carried out an attack near Har Bracha in 1988.
The IDF stressed that it regularly removes monuments and symbols it considers incitement to terrorism, but only after receiving the necessary approvals and coordinating with the Civil Administration. Another operation to remove such monuments had already been planned, the military said.
The confrontation also drew fierce criticism from opposition politicians.
Democrats MK Gilad Kariv said the army had repeatedly rejected requests from opposition lawmakers to visit the nearby village of Qusra because it lacked the manpower, yet had found forces to escort Sukkot into Madama.
Democrats leader Yair Golan accused Sukkot of trying to “ignite another fire and another war,” while former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot said the lawmaker had “lied and misled the IDF and its commanders” and damaged Israel’s security and international standing.
The clash is not the first between Sukkot and senior military officials over the use of IDF resources.
About two months ago, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir complained to Defense Minister Israel Katz and Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth that substantial military assets had been diverted for a visit by Sukkot to Joseph’s Tomb near Nablus.
Zamir said that visit, presented as a professional security tour, had effectively become a political event and required the diversion of operational resources, including a drone from the Lebanon sector.
The latest incident has sharpened that dispute considerably, with the IDF now accusing a sitting lawmaker not merely of poor coordination, but of deliberately manipulating a military escort and putting troops at risk.
First published: 09:33, 08.25.26