News sites around the world have been sharing images in recent hours of MK Zvi Sukkot smashing monuments, while highlighting the IDF's apparent inaction. Some reports note that the monument commemorated Palestinian terrorists, while others omit this detail. In either case, the international press has not emphasized this fact. The story comes a week after another controversy that cast Israel in a negative light and sparked a diplomatic crisis, when Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir gave a podcast interview in which he said that Israel needs to act more aggressively and violently in Gaza, remarks that were interpreted in the international press as a call that could include harming innocent people.
"Palestinian monument destroyed, harsh criticism of Israeli lawmaker," read a headline on the news site of Germany's Der Spiegel. "An Israeli lawmaker wields a hammer in a Palestinian village. The opposition accuses the politician of creating new conflicts in the West Bank. The foreign minister is also getting involved."
The report described criticism from Israeli politicians directed at MK Sukkot "after the far-right lawmaker released a video showing him destroying a Palestinian monument in the presence of the Israeli army." The German news site shared a critical quote from Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, who said that "Sukkot, like any other Knesset member, is not the sovereign in the territories of Judea and Samaria. The decision to destroy such monuments should be made solely by the state, through the army and the security forces. Unfortunately, MK Sukkot deliberately did exactly the opposite."
The report noted that "the far-right nationalist lawmaker attacked a monument in a Palestinian village with a hammer. Video clips of the incident in the village of Madama in the northern West Bank show Sukkot and others being protected by Israeli soldiers. Sukkot belongs to the Religious Zionism party, which is part of the far-right forces in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government. In a post on X, the politician appeared at the site and described it as 'a small taste of what's to come.'"
Germany's Tagesspiegel also noted the fact that the army protected MK Sukkot while he smashed the monument. "The army feels deceived, a Knesset member destroyed a monument to Palestinian dead in the West Bank," read the article's headline. "Israeli soldiers protected an especially nationalist lawmaker who vandalized a monument in a West Bank village. Now, the criticism is coming."
Video: Usage under Israeli Intellectual Property Law Article 27a
The report itself further stated that, "an extremist Israeli lawmaker destroyed a monument with a hammer in a Palestinian village. Video documentation of the incident in Madama in the northern West Bank shows Knesset Member Zvi Sukkot and others being protected by Israeli soldiers. Sukkot belongs to the Religious Zionism party, part of the far-right movement in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition."
The French news site Le Monde devoted prominent space to the shattering of the monument commemorating the terrorist, "Far-right Israeli lawmaker tried to destroy Palestinian monument in occupied West Bank village," read the headline. The site's editors explained that "in Israel, warnings of a wave of violence are growing as the October elections approach, while the gap between supporters and opponents of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu deepens."
The report itself stated, "Far-right Israeli lawmaker Zvi Sukkot tried to destroy a monument to Palestinian 'tortured martyrs' in an occupied West Bank village, claiming they were 'terrorists,' an act condemned by the army and political figures. The Israel Defense Forces, which accompanied the lawmaker during his visit to Palestinian villages in the northern West Bank, condemned the 'misleading and manipulative manner' in which Mr. Sukkot used this means."
"IDF soldiers assigned to operational missions in the area were diverted from their duties for this task and exposed to unnecessary risks, while the IDF is operating under intense pressure," the report stated.
The report quoted various Israeli political figures who condemned MK Sukkot's independent decision to destroy the monument, even though the matter falls under state authority, and, of course, also mentioned Ben-Gvir's remark. "This incident comes amid growing warnings in Israel about the risk of a violent outbreak ahead of the parliamentary elections in October, against the backdrop of a deepening rift between supporters and opponents of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu."
The Muslim world also covered MK Sukkot's action extensively. "Far-right MK shatters Palestinian monument in occupied West Bank," read the headline on Turkish news site Turkiye Today. "Israeli lawmaker Zvi Sukkot and several aides smashed a Palestinian monument with a hammer in the village of Madama in the occupied West Bank, near Nablus, on Tuesday, while Israeli soldiers provided security during a tour approved by the army, according to footage and statements from Sukkot and the Israeli military."
Egypt's Al-Ahram site noted that "an Israeli lawmaker under military escort shattered a monument to Palestinian martyrs in the occupied West Bank. The far-right Israeli lawmaker struck a Palestinian monument in the occupied West Bank with a hammer on Tuesday, while under military escort." Pakistan's The Express Tribune site told its readers that, "an Israeli lawmaker shattered a Palestinian monument in the occupied West Bank. Palestinian agency data, a 63% increase in the number of Israeli occupation attacks in the West Bank."
