Israeli Lawmaker Demolishes Palestinian Martyrs' Memorial in West Bank Village

A far-right Israeli parliamentarian entered the occupied West Bank village of Madama on Tuesday and demolished a local monument dedicated to Palestinian martyrs, an act that has drawn sharp criticism from village officials.

Video footage shows Zvi Sukkot, a Knesset member from the Religious Zionism party, striking the structure with a hammer as Israeli soldiers stood nearby. In the video, Sukkot is heard saying the monument could not be left standing because it encouraged terrorism and influenced children in the village.

The Israeli military confirmed it authorized and provided security for Sukkot's visit, but stated that the lawmaker's group exceeded the agreed scope by destroying the monument without prior permission.

Rami Nassar, head of the Madama council, described the incident as part of a pattern of daily harassment faced by the village of roughly 2,500 residents. He said settlers and occupation forces regularly attack homes and vandalize public property. Nassar rejected Sukkot's justification, noting that the memorial honored people who died while working or protecting their land, and suggested the lawmaker was using the act for political gain.

Separately on Tuesday, Israeli forces surrounded a United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) vocational school in the Qalandia refugee camp near Jerusalem. Israel announced it had seized the facility and planned to replace it with an educational and community complex.

A camp official said the move was an attack on the refugee issue itself, as UNRWA represents the legal framework for Palestinian refugees and their right of return. Israel has recently intensified efforts to restrict UNRWA's operations, accusing the agency of anti-Israel bias and employing militants. The UN and UNRWA have rejected these allegations, stating that credible claims against staff are investigated and suspected militants are removed.