\n
A far-right member of the Israeli parliament has badly damaged a Palestinian memorial with a sledgehammer in the occupied West Bank while under military escort.<\/b><\/p>\n
The incident has drawn strong criticism from Palestinians and across the political spectrum in Israel.<\/p>\n
Video footage showed Zvi Sukkot, a member of the far-right Religious Zionism party, and several others striking the stone memorial in the Palestinian village of Madama.<\/p>\n
In the video, Sukkot – who has a history of provocative anti-Palestinian acts – says: “This is something we cannot leave standing here, because any place that glorifies terrorism, we must remove it.”<\/p>\n
Rami Nasar, the head of the village council in Madama, said that the monument was erected in 2008 to remember Palestinians killed in the battle of Karameh – a day-long military confrontation between Israeli forces and those of both the PLO and Jordan in 1968.<\/p>\n
It also memorialises Palestinians killed in the first and second intifada.<\/p>\n
Nasar said it was intended to honour those who had been killed in conflict with Israel, whatever their political affiliation.<\/p>\n
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its soldiers had been present during the incident. The Israeli military said it had approved a tour of monuments in the area for Sukkot and was providing security.<\/p>\n
But the IDF said he and the others involved had acted deceptively and without authorisation.<\/p>\n
It said soldiers eventually stopped Sukkot and escorted his group out of Madama after reporting the incident to their commanders.<\/p>\n
In a number of previous incidents involving settler violence, soldiers have been filmed standing by without intervening.<\/p>\n
The incident has further raised the temperature in the West Bank, where increasing attacks by settlers on Palestinians in recent months have drawn international condemnation.<\/p>\n
Madama itself has been the target of several attacks by settlers.<\/p>\n
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has issued a statement criticising Sukkot’s actions. It read: “Taking the law into one’s own hands, especially when it involves public figures, is a reprehensible practice that prevents the IDF from focusing on its missions of combating terrorism and incitement to violence.”<\/p>\n
Netanyahu’s main rival in the upcoming general election, Gadi Eisenkot, said that Sukkot’s behaviour was “a disgrace for anyone who claims to represent the public and be a leader”.<\/p>\n
Eisenkot also criticised Netanyahu for “allowing anarchists like Zvi Sukkot and his ilk to do whatever they please, endangering security in the settlements and harming Israel’s standing in the world”.<\/p>\n
But finance minister Bezalel Smotrich – who heads the Religious Zionism party to which Sukkot belongs – directed his fiercest criticism at what he called the “frantic rush of the left-wing opposition to condemn Sukkot rather than terrorism itself”.<\/p>\n
On Monday, the most senior Israeli military officer in the West Bank, Major General Avi Bluth, was reported by Israeli media to have told Netanyahu in a closed-door meeting that the mounting violence by settlers could ignite a major escalation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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