Sukkot said his objective extended beyond removing physical symbols. He argued that such memorials risk turning terrorists into role models and send a message to younger generations that legitimizes violence.
"Several days ago I demanded that the army act to remove monuments glorifying terrorists in the murderous villages of Madama and Burin, but unfortunately they remained in place," Sukkot said Tuesday morning. "Therefore I came myself and acted to remove them."
"My message today is simple and clear: We cannot allow a situation where those who harmed Jews and IDF soldiers are memorialized as heroes and presented to the next generation as figures to admire," he continued. "Alongside the fight against terrorism itself, we must prevent the attempt to legitimize it in consciousness and raise the children in villages who will be the next generation of West Bank Arabs on a legacy that says murdering Jews is an act of heroism."
Sukkot called on the IDF to remove all terrorist monuments throughout Judea and Samaria. "Many Jews paid with their lives as a result of terrorists who came from these villages - we will not allow Jewish murderers to become heroes and we will not allow the glorification of terrorism to become part of our public space," he said.
The IDF issued a strongly worded response to Sukkot's action. According to a military spokesperson, Sukkot had requested on August 12 to conduct a "monument tour" in several villages in the Samaria Brigade located in Areas A and B, Beita, Burin, and Madama, which are under varying degrees of Palestinian administrative control.
"This morning, the Knesset member together with his aides conducted the 'monument tour' under the protection of IDF forces who were diverted from their activities for this mission," the statement said. "Contrary to coordination, the participants acted in a deceitful and manipulative manner, without authority and in complete contradiction to the approved outline, and began destroying one of the monuments in the village of Madama. Upon identifying what was happening, the force spoke with its commanders, who instructed them to stop what was occurring, and those involved were removed from the village."
The military said forces designated for operational missions in the sector were diverted for the task and "exploited unnecessarily, all while the IDF is under operational strain." The statement called Sukkot's conduct and lack of coordination "serious" and described it as "exploitation of security force protection for a complete overstepping of authority."
The IDF emphasized that it regularly destroys monuments and incitement symbols "subject to all required approvals and in coordination with the Civil Administration, as has happened several times in recent months and was planned to be carried out in another operation soon. This is an important action in the war against terrorism and incitement to terrorism."
