MK with history of illegal far-right activity tapped to head Knesset defense subcommittee

Ultra-nationalist MK and radical settlements activist Tzvi Succot is appointed to serve as the chairman of the Knesset subcommittee on Judea and Samaria — aka West Bank — affairs, under the permanent Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Succot was involved in radical activity in the West Bank before becoming a member of Knesset, and was arrested at least three times for his actions during demonstrations outside the home of the head of IDF’s Central Command. He was not drafted into the IDF due to his history of far-right violent behavior.

Succot, who is an MK for the ultra-nationalist Religious Zionist party, was also arrested in 2010 by the police due to Shin Bet suspicions he was involved in the arson of a mosque in the northern West Bank close to the Yitzhar settlement, where he lived, although he was never charged over the incident.

The MK says that as chair of the subcommittee he will work toward “ensuring the personal safety of the residents of Judea and Samaria, and to develop the settlements as much as possible.”

Left-wing MKs condemn Succot’s appointment, with Labor leader MK Merav Michaeli calling him “one of the most dangerous people in Israel, a racist, pyromaniac, terror supporter, Shin Bet target.”

The Peace Now organization, which opposes Israeli rule in the West Bank, says Succot was “a dangerous hilltop youth who avoided military service,” and said he “represents those who left security on the Gaza border abandoned in favor of the illegal West Bank outposts.”