IDF initially refused MK Sukkot’s request to tour West Bank ‘martyr’ monuments, relented after he threatened to go without escort – report

The IDF originally refused the request of far-right MK Zvi Sukkot to tour “martyrs” monuments in Palestinian towns in the West Bank, before eventually relenting after Sukkot threatened to visit the sites without an army escort, Army Radio says.

Yesterday, Sukkot was filmed smashing a monument to slain Palestinians, many of them terrorists, with a sledgehammer in the West Bank village of Madama, as soldiers stood around. The incident was widely condemned, drawing denunciations from the army and politicians across the spectrum.

According to the Army Radio report, Sukkot first contacted the IDF several weeks ago about arranging a “tour” of Madama and several other towns with similar monuments, but the IDF initially refused his request, citing lack of manpower amid the ongoing situation regarding a settler siege of Palestinian homes in the nearby town of Qusra.

Sukkot then threatened to go ahead with his visit to the villages without an army escort, accompanied by just his Knesset Guard detail, the report says. Fearing he would be harmed if he went without an escort, the IDF relented, saying it would schedule an IDF escort for Sukkot once tensions in the area calmed down.

According to the report, soldiers in the unit tasked with escorting Sukkot to the village have told Army Radio that the incident was a waste of time and manpower, and that commanders were “shocked” when Sukkot took a sledgehammer out of his vehicle and started smashing the monument.

“We are stuck here between terrorism from Jews and terrorism from Palestinians,” one soldier tells Army Radio.