Israel's Smotrich Calls to Destroy 40 Palestinian Memorials in West Bank
The demand comes after a member of Smotrich's party shattered a monument in a Palestinian village with a sledgehammer.
Days after a far-right Israeli politician took a sledgehammer to a Palestinian monument, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich demanded that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu order the dismantling of 40 additional Palestinian memorials in the Occupied West Bank, as first reported by Israel's Channel 14.
Smotrich outlined his request in a letter in late August, five days after Zvi Sukkot, a member of the Knesset for Smotrich's right-wing Religious Zionist Party, broadcasted his destruction of a memorial in Madama Village. Inscribed in the stone facade were the names of Palestinians who have been killed by Israel. Netanyahu denounced Sukkot for taking the law into his own hands, while Smotrich defended his party member on X, pushing for the destruction of "dozens more terrorist monuments throughout Judea and Samaria."
"These terrorist incitement (and memorial) infrastructures have existed for many years, just minutes away from Israeli cities," Smotrich wrote in his letter, responding to Netanyahu's criticisms of Sukkot's actions. "No systematic and sufficient work is being done to eliminate them." He attached a table with 40 Palestinian memorials, demanding that the prime minister instruct the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to dismantle the structures within 24 hours.
Netanyahu has not publicly responded to the finance minister's demand.
