Knesset member smashes Palestinian terrorist memorials as IDF warns Jewish violence could ‘ignite Judea & Samaria’

Military officials have warned Israel’s political leadership that violent attacks by radical Jewish settler groups, like the events in Qusra over the past weeks, could ignite Judea and Samaria in a new wave of Palestinian violence and terror, Israeli media reported Monday.

But the very next morning, Knesset Member Zvi Sukkot (Religious Zionism) triggered another wave of outrage after footage of him demolishing a memorial for terrorists in a Palestinian town went viral.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized Sukkot for taking the law "into his own hands" and interfering with the IDF’s mission against terrorism. The military harshly condemned Sukkot for misleading his army escort about the aim of his visit to the area, while even coalition members criticized the provocative act.

The IDF’s warning was reportedly highlighted during Monday’s high-level security assessment with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the IDF Central Command near Jerusalem, which focused on the security challenges in the Judea and Samaria sectors.

According to Channel 12 News, Central Command chief Maj.-Gen. Avi Bluth said at the meeting: “There has been a significant decline in the scope of [Palestinian] terrorism over the past two years, but there is a match that can set everything on fire in an instant—and that is nationalist crime,” using the Israeli term for violence committed by Jewish radicals against Palestinians.

תיעוד: חבר הכנסת צבי סוכות ניפץ אנדרטה למחבל בכפר מדאמא שליד שכם@HGoldich @glick_sh
צילום: סעיף 27א pic.twitter.com/CktNKehOG2

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) August 25, 2026

According to Bluth, “the IDF’s attention is constantly diverted to such incidents instead of containing Palestinian terrorism.”

The military has warned that its current 26 battalions in the area are not enough to effectively deal with all the challenges, particularly with quickly evolving threats. The report also cited security officials warning that the combination of current trends could become a “recipe for disaster.”

Sukkot has been affiliated with radical groups of settlers in the past, having served as the Jewish Power party's CEO. He has often made headlines with deliberately provocative acts, including in recent weeks by breaking into an Arab school in northern Israel and smashing a ceramic plate with a Palestinian flag at the entrance to a school in Jerusalem.

Sukkot’s actions caused even Prime Minister Netanyahu, who had refrained from commenting on the events in Qusra, to weigh in. “The IDF has overriding authority on security in Judea and Samaria and is entrusted with implementing the decisions of the political echelon,” he said in a statement. “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’s concern about the sensitive situation was underlined by its unusually harsh response to Sukkot’s actions on Tuesday.

It stated that Sukkot had misled them by requesting to conduct a tour of memorials to slain terrorists in several villages in the Samaria Brigade’s sector, located in Areas A and B, which are under Palestinian control.

Sukkot and several of his aides “conducted the ‘memorial tour’ under the protection of IDF forces that were diverted from their regular activities for this mission. Contrary to the coordination, the participants acted deceptively and manipulatively, without authority and in complete violation of the approved framework, and began demolishing one of the monuments in the village of Madama.”

Within a short while, the troops were ordered to stop Sukkot and remove him and his aides from the village. “IDF forces designated for operational missions in the area were diverted for the purpose of this mission and unnecessarily placed at risk, all while the IDF is under significant operational strain,” the military charged.

“The IDF views the conduct and lack of coordination by the Knesset member as serious, and as an exploitation of the security forces’ protection to completely overstep his authority.”

הנה תיעודים של אנדרטאות פלסטיניות שהסיתו לטרור ונהרסו ע״י צה״ל באופן חוקי למדי רק בתקופה האחרונה באזור השומרון.

אבל ח״כ סוכות יפיץ עכשיו את הספין שלו, וצה״ל יצטייר כמי שמתנגד להרס אנדרטאות פלסטיניות.

אז רק כדי לעשות סדר: לאף אחד לא כואב על שום אנדרטה לזכר שהידים - אלא על הסטת… pic.twitter.com/sHKf4FQgGL

— דורון קדוש | Doron Kadosh (@Doron_Kadosh) August 25, 2026

The military also noted that it regularly demolishes such memorials in legal ways, with IDF sources later telling Channel 12 that the military had already planned to demolish the monument in the coming weeks.

Sukkot published a picture of himself with a sledgehammer next to the monument, writing on 𝕏 that “every child who sees every day a giant monument that glorifies murderers of Jews will dream of being a terrorist.”

He argued that he had appealed to the IDF to demolish it several times, but “in the meantime, [here is] a small taste from this morning in the village of Madama, at a monument commemorating the murderers of dozens of Jews.”

Sukkot’s actions drew quick and strong condemnations from opposition leaders, but also from coalition members and even party colleagues.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar stated that Sukkot “like any other Knesset member - is not the sovereign in the territories of Judea and Samaria. Decisions must be made and implemented by the state and its authorities, the IDF and the security forces, and by them alone. This is also what public representatives should convey to the public. Regrettably, MK Sukkot knowingly did the exact opposite.”

The chair of Sukkot’s Religious Zionism faction, Ohad Tal, charged: “I want to understand—is this a move coordinated with the campaign? Is there some sophisticated strategy here that I’m not understanding, or have we simply decided to commit political suicide?”

David Peter, an attorney who has represented government officials and frequently appears as a judicial analyst on Israeli TV, lamented that “there are elected officials who, unfortunately, have not internalized that they are not a protest movement—they are the government, and that entails responsibility and maturity.”

“They do not understand the international perspective on events of this kind. I foresee a very bleak future internationally. The developments in Europe and the United States are not exactly reassuring. We will not have the privilege of making mistakes for much longer,” Peter warned.

Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot said Sukkot’s conduct was a “disgrace” and tarnished the entire national-religious sector, while blaming Netanyahu for allowing “anarchists like Zvi Sukkot and his ilk to do whatever they please.”

Naftali Bennett, leader of the Together party, accused the “government of chaos” of harming the country’s standing “to scrape together views on TikTok.”

Sukkot’s actions come against the background of increasing international criticism about the lack of law enforcement amid a rise in violence by Jewish radicals in Judea and Samaria, which has caused even strong supporters of the settlement movement like U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee to describe the perpetrators as “terrorists.”

Senior IDF officers told Ynet News on Sunday that “the IDF is stretched to the limit in the West Bank, but at the same time we are being forced to deal with these incidents, which divert attention and are becoming increasingly brazen,” an official said.

Over the past week, the IDF has launched another campaign to evacuate dozens of outposts that are illegal under Israeli law, at a pace of almost two per night. This has caused a strong backlash by the radicals against specific IDF officers, including incitement against Central Command chief Bluth.