Israeli soldiers briefly blocked a member of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, from reaching a besieged Palestinian family home in the occupied West Bank village of Qusra on Tuesday, in an incident that underscored deepening tensions across the territory. The lawmaker, Ofer Cassif, was attempting to visit families whose home has been under a settler siege for 17 days. He eventually reached them and expressed his solidarity. The same day brought a series of other flashpoints: a far-right Knesset member smashed a Palestinian memorial under military escort, Israeli forces began evicting a UN vocational training centre in east Jerusalem, and settlers attacked journalists near Bethlehem.
In the northern West Bank village of Madama, footage circulated online showing Zvi Sukkot, a Knesset member, settler, and activist, wielding a sledgehammer against a monument commemorating Palestinian "martyrs" while Israeli soldiers stood nearby. The Israeli military acknowledged the episode but distanced itself from it, saying Sukkot had acted "deceptively and manipulatively, without authorisation, departing entirely from the approved framework." It said soldiers were ordered to stop the activity and the group was escorted out. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the act, stating that "taking the law into one's own hands, especially when it involves public figures, is a reprehensible practice" that diverts the military from counterterrorism operations — though his office simultaneously confirmed it had ordered the eviction of the UN training centre.
That eviction targeted the UNRWA Qalandia Training Centre, located between the east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Kafr Aqab and the Qalandia Palestinian refugee camp. Established in 1952, the centre provides vocational training to around 340 Palestinians from the West Bank each year. Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, celebrated the operation, posting a photograph of the Israeli flag hoisted over the entrance with the caption "UNRWA in our hands." The raid came a day after diplomats from more than 25 missions had visited the site. Israel has banned UNRWA from operating on its territory since early 2025, accusing the agency of providing cover for Hamas — a claim UNRWA disputes. UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the forced entry, with his spokesman reiterating that UN premises are "inviolable" under international law and citing a recent International Court of Justice advisory opinion to that effect.
Also near Bethlehem, Israeli settlers attacked a three-person AFP journalist team covering solidarity visits by Israeli activists with Palestinians facing settler harassment. Settlers, including children, threw stones and struck one journalist with a stick, causing minor bleeding. The reporters later found both their vehicles vandalised, with rear windshields smashed and tyres punctured.
The cluster of incidents reflects an intensifying struggle over control and access in the occupied West Bank — territory Israel has administered militarily since 1967 and which Palestinians seek as the core of a future state. The events highlight competing pressures within Israeli politics, with far-right officials and settler activists pushing boundaries that even the military occasionally distances itself from, while international institutions warn that legal and humanitarian norms are being systematically eroded.