Netanyahu condemns MK Sukkot’s unauthorized demolition of terror monument

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday condemned lawmaker Zvi Sukkot’s unauthorized demolition of a monument to terrorists in the village of Madama in Samaria, saying public officials must not take the law into their own hands.

“The [Israel Defense Forces] has overriding authority on security in Judea and Samaria and is entrusted with implementing the decisions of the political echelon,” said Netanyahu. “Taking the law into one’s own hands, particularly by public figures, is unacceptable and hinders the IDF from focusing on its missions of combating terror and incitement.”

The IDF said the Religious Zionism MK’s entry into Madama had been coordinated, but the destruction of the monument had not.

“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.

Sukkot, who chairs the Knesset Subcommittee for Judea and Samaria, said the monument commemorated terrorists and defended the move as a stand against incitement to terrorism.

He acted after the Israeli outlet Hakol Hayehudi reported that monuments had been erected in the Palestinian villages of Madama and Burin to honor terrorists involved in attacks against Israelis. The outlet reported that ceremonies were held at the sites, where candy was distributed to children.

One memorial honored Yaman Tayeb Ali Faraj, who Israeli Supreme Court records said dispatched an assailant in a 2002 attack at the Geha Junction, JFeed reported. The attack killed Adva Fisher, Noam Leibowitz, Angelina Shcherov and Rotem Weinberg and wounded more than 20 other people.

After the report, Sukkot called on the military to remove the monuments, arguing that memorials to people involved in attacks against Jews should not be allowed in areas under Israeli security control.

IDF sources said the military had already been preparing to demolish the monument through an authorized operation, Channel 12 News reported. The sources said troops had recently conducted a preliminary inspection and that the demolition had been expected to take place in the coming weeks.

Criticism of the action came from across the political spectrum, including from Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the head of the Religious Zionist Party. Smotrich wrote in a later X post on Tuesday that Israel “should have dismantled long ago the terror monument glorifying the despicable terrorist responsible for the murder of four Jews and the wounding of 20 innocent Israelis. There are dozens more such terror monuments throughout Judea and Samaria that should be destroyed today by the IDF—and by the IDF alone.”

Smotrich then called out the “left-wing opposition leaders’ rush to condemn MK Sukkot rather than terrorism itself,” asserting that “their plan is to form a government with clear supporters of terrorism, evacuate the communities and farms we established in Judea and Samaria, and create a terror state in the heart of the country. That is the only thing that should concern every sane person who wishes to live in the State of Israel today.”