IDF, memorial monuments defaced in Jordan Valley

"The fallen were killed for treason," activists spray on war memorial, in attack local council head calls "terrorism."

By JPOST EDITORIAL
Updated: APRIL 2, 2018 08:36
defaced Jordan war memorial_370 (photo credit: Courtesy Jordan Valley Regional Council)
defaced Jordan war memorial_370
(photo credit: Courtesy Jordan Valley Regional Council)
Three monuments to Israel terror victims and fallen members of the security services were defaced by left-wing extremists in the Jordan Valley, police discovered on Thursday, just one week before Israel bows its head to honor its war dead.
Anti-Israel slogans in Hebrew were found spray painted in black on the memorials, including the words  "the fallen were killed for their treason" on a stone wall bearing the names of hundreds of soldiers that were killed since 1967.
The vandals also sprayed Palestinian flags and wrote "end the Occupation" and "Zionists out!" on other stone structures just a week before Memorial Day at the desert monument, which is north of Jericho.
Police were first alerted to the attack by the mother of Salit Gutman, who was murdered in a shooting terror attack near the Mehula settlement in 2001. A memorial named after Gutman was one of those defaced.
"Forensic teams are on the site, gathering evidence," Judea and Samaria Police spokeswoman Nurit Tzemah told The Jerusalem Post.
A third memorial set up to honor two Traffic Police men shot dead by terrorists on Route 90 in the area was also targeted by the vandals.
Police inspected other memorials in the West Bank and found that they had been left untouched.
"All possible directions are being considered," Tzemah said.
"What we're talking about here is nothing less than a terrorist attack," said David Elhayenu, the head of the Jordan Valley Regional Council, blaming the vandalism on "left-wing activists."
IDF memorial monuments
IDF memorial monuments
Elhayenu said he believed the attack was in response to the actions of former Jordan Valley Brigades deputy commander Lt.-Col. Shalom Eisner, who slammed his M-16 rifle into the face of a Danish pro-Palestinian activist earlier this week.
IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz removed Eisner from his post on Wednesday after video footage spread over the internet and on Israeli media, drawing criticism from top Israeli officials including the prime minister, the defense minister, the president, and the chief of staff himself.