MK Zvi Sukkot arrived this morning (Monday) in the villages of Medama and Burin, located near the settlement of Litzhar, and worked to destroy monuments erected there in memory of terrorists.
This was after his demand for the security establishment to destroy the sites glorifying the murderers of Jews was not accepted.
The operation on the ground was born following an exposure by the Jewish Voice, according to which banners glorifying terrorists were placed in villages, and conferences were even held around them where candy was distributed to local children.
Among the figures immortalized at the site, the name of Yaman Tayeb Ali Faraj stood out, who, according to the Supreme Court's findings, was involved in transporting the terrorist to the attack at Geha Junction - a deadly event in which Adva Fischer, Noam Leibowitz, Angelina Shcherov and Rotem Weinberger were murdered, and over 20 people were injured.
Another monument removed by a Knesset member in the village of Burin was dedicated to Hamdan Hussein Mahmoud a-Najjar.
In December 1988, an-Najjar attacked and murdered Yaakov Faraj near Mount Bracha, took his personal weapon and opened fire on an IDF force that was called to the scene. The gunfire killed Corporal Arthur (Alter) Herzig and wounded two other soldiers, until the attacker was eliminated by soldiers' fire.
In his early appeal to the defense establishment, Sukkot argued that the commemoration of elements who harmed Israelis in the public space under Israeli security responsibility should not be allowed. His position is that beyond removing the physical structures, the transformation of the perpetrators into role models and the legitimization of acts of hostility among the younger generation must be interrupted.
Sukkot: "A few days ago I demanded that the army take action to remove the monuments that commemorate terrorists in the murderous villages of Medama and Burin, but unfortunately they remained in place. That's why I arrived myself and took action to remove them.".
""My message today is simple and clear: We will not allow a situation in which those who harmed Jews and IDF soldiers are immortalized as heroes and presented to the next generation as figures to admire. Alongside the fight against terrorism itself, we must prevent the attempt to indoctrinate it in the mind and raise the children in the villages who will constitute the next generation of Judea and Samaria Arabs with a legacy that murdering Jews is an act of heroism.".
He added: "Many Jews paid with their lives as a result of the terrorists who came out of these villages - we will not allow the murderers of Jews to be turned into heroes and we will not allow the perpetuation of terrorism to become part of our public space.".
The IDF stated that the tour was coordinated, but the destruction of the monuments was done at the Knesset member's discretion.
""On August 12, a request was received from MK Zvi Sukkot to conduct a 'monument tour' in a number of villages in the Samaria Division located in Areas A and B (Bita, Burin and Madama). This morning, the MK, together with his assistants, conducted the 'monument tour' while securing IDF forces that were diverted from their activities for this mission.
""Contrary to coordination, the participants acted falsely and manipulatively, without authority and in complete contradiction to the approved outline, and began destroying one of the monuments in the village of Madama. Upon recognizing what was happening, the force spoke to its commanders, who instructed them to stop what was happening and the above were removed from the village.".
The army attacked Sukkot, claiming: "IDF forces designated for operational missions in the sector were diverted for the benefit of the mission and acted unnecessarily, all while the IDF is under operational strain. The IDF views the conduct and lack of coordination by the MK as serious, and as an exploitation of the security of the security forces for a complete violation of authority. We emphasize that the IDF regularly destroys monuments and symbols of incitement, subject to all required permits and in coordination with the Civil Administration, as has happened several times in recent months and is planned to be carried out in another operation soon. This is an important action in the war against terrorism and incitement to terrorism.".
In addition to condemnations from all sides of the political spectrum, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also condemned: "The IDF is the sovereign in Judea and Samaria and is responsible for implementing the decisions of the political echelon.
""Taking the law into one's own hands, especially by public figures, is wrong and prevents the IDF from focusing on its missions against terrorism and incitement.".
Religious Zionist Chairman and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called on the IDF to destroy monuments that he says glorify terrorism throughout Judea and Samaria.
He attacked the opposition leaders for condemning MK Zvi Sukkot and said: "What should really bother us is the rampage of the left-wing opposition leaders in condemning MK Sukkot, and not the terrorism itself.".
