bluapples on X | ashesofacacia.substack.com
As the backlash from the United States-Israel-led war continues to reverberate from Tehran to Washington, D.C., U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu find themselves struggling to maintain the political hold they have on their respective nations. The fallout from the war poses a crisis to both Trump and Netanyahu as the calendar turns ever closer toward monumental elections this fall that increasingly appear as if they could mark the final chapter of each of their political legacies. Yet, unlike Trump, whose dwindling support in the U.S. ahead of mid-term elections merely signals the loss of his Republican Party’s control of Congress, a disastrous outcome in the 2026 Israeli legislative election scheduled for October 27th could mean the end of Netanyahu’s tenure as Prime Minister of Israel. The momentum Netanyahu’s opposition has gained ahead of elections to determine the 26th Knesset isn’t the only obstacle he faces to stay office, as chaos within his own ruling government continues to undermine the viability of his political future.
The latest episode of existential turmoil within the Netanyahu government that has fortified his opposition with political ammunition emerged from the actions taken by a far-right member of his ruling coalition. Zvi Sukkot, a Member of the Knesset (”MK”) belonging to the Religious Zionist Party led by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, plunged the Netanyahu government into even more disarray after he destroyed a Palestinian monument in the occupied West Bank on August 25th, 2026. Sukkot destroyed the Palestinian Martyrs Memorial erected in the village of Kafr Madama near Nablus to honor members of the al-Aqsa brigade and civilians killed in the First and Second Intifada by taking a sledgehammer to it alongside his aides while being guarded by members of the Israel Defense Forces (”IDF”).Israeli lawmaker Zvi Sukkot destroys a Palestinian memorial in the occupied West Bank.Sukkot justified his actions in a statement posted on his X account, writing, “Every child who sees every day a giant monument that glorifies murderers of Jews will dream of being a terrorist.” The Religious Zionist Party MK laced that unapologetic defense of his act with the looming threat that it was just “a small taste” of what’s to come. He ended his public statement addressing the destruction of the monument with a message bereft of self-awareness, stating, “There is no place for support of terror in the State of Israel!”
