Israeli Lawmaker Smashes Palestinian Monument in West Bank

An Israeli lawmaker entered a Palestinian village escorted by Israeli soldiers and smashed a monument with a sledgehammer on Tuesday, in a provocative act that comes amid rising violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. As the lawmaker, Zvi Sukkot, a member of a far-right political party, struck the limestone monument in the village of Madama, at least two soldiers stood nearby, according to video footage verified by The New York Times. No soldiers are seen in the footage trying to stop him. Video A video shared on social media shows Israeli soldiers standing by while Zvi Sukkot, who is a member of the Israeli Parliament, and his aides attack a Palestinian monument in the West Bank village of Madama on Tuesday. Credit Credit... @QudsNen, via X Mr. Sukkot later defended his actions, saying the monument included the names of individuals who were involved in attacks against Israelis. In a statement, the Israeli military said Mr. Sukkot and his aides had participated in a tour of Palestinian communities on Tuesday under the protection of soldiers but had “acted deceptively and manipulatively, without authorization, departing entirely from the approved framework, and began demolishing one of the monuments in Madama.” The statement said that the soldiers had “reported the incident to their commanders, who instructed them to stop the activity,” and that Mr. Sukkot and his aides had been “quickly escorted out of the village.” We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in . Want all of The Times? Subscribe .