Israeli elections 2026: Meet the parliament—MK Tzvi Sukkot

Education is an existential priority for Israel, Religious Zionism lawmaker Zvi Sukkot, the new head of the Knesset Education Committee, told JNS in his office at the legislature in Jerusalem.

Living in a small country surrounded by enemies determined to destroy it, intelligence is Israelis’ greatest advantage, he said.

“We are a society led by free thought, creativity and impressive intellectual ability. That is our competitive advantage and key to survival. No country can endure if it raises a generation of idiots. We must be the best,” said Sukkot.

“It is a huge challenge that begins in infancy. Numerous reports show that the way a child is treated in the first years of life has a permanent impact. As such, nannies, kindergarten teachers and school teachers must act accordingly,” he added.

Sukkot underscored the need to address shortages of teachers, preschool teachers and nannies, as well as overcrowded classrooms and the presence of unsuitable teachers, which he said can lead to violent incidents in the education system.

Reflecting on his parliamentary career, Sukkot said that since entering the Knesset in February 2023, he has initiated numerous pieces of legislation. However, as a so-called “Norwegian Law” MK, he was forced out of the legislature when Otzma Yehudit left the government and returned only after ultra-Orthodox factions exited the coalition, blocking its ability to pass legislation. As a result, his ability to advance legislation was limited.

Among the laws he initiated but that are no longer formally associated with him is the Incitement to Terrorism Law, which removes the requirement for police to obtain prior approval from the attorney general or the State Attorney’s Office before opening an investigation into incitement.

“I’m very proud of it. It’s a flagship piece of legislation for me,” Sukkot said.

Another law he cited obligates the Palestinian Authority to pay 20 million shekels (almost $6.3 million) to every person injured by a terrorist it funded.

“We are making it right for the bereaved families and also hurting the P.A., which are two things that are important to me,” he said.

Ten months into the current war, right-wing activists and several Knesset members, including Sukkot, broke through the gates of two Israeli military bases to protest after learning that nine Israel Defense Forces reservists had been arrested on suspicion of abusing a Gazan detainee captured in Israel during Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion.

The reservists, who were assigned to guard terrorists, were arrested by masked military police at the Sde Teiman base in the Negev Desert, which has been used as a temporary detention center for terror suspects.

“You don’t arrest IDF soldiers like terrorists. There is due process. You need to investigate,” said Sukkot. “The feeling at the time was that we were trying to appease The Hague by showing we were investigating so-called war crimes, and our soldiers were paying the price,” he said.

“I was one of the only ones in this building [the Knesset] who took it so hard. I went there to protect the rights of our soldiers and to tell people in the Military Prosecution Service that there is a proper way to investigate these things,” he added.

Sukkot was questioned by police in November over his involvement in the protests.

Northern Gaza

With regard to the Gaza Strip, Sukkot believes that resettling the territory is the only answer.

“I don’t think there is any other solution other than occupying the Gaza Strip and evacuating civilians to a third country that will agree to take them. Jewish occupation is the only answer; otherwise, we will continue the cycle of fighting we have been in for the last 30 years,” he told JNS.

Referring to the 1994 Gaza-Jericho Agreement, known as the Cairo Agreement, which brought Gaza under Palestinian Authority control, he said the Strip has since turned into a wasp’s nest.

“There is almost no house that isn’t, or doesn’t hide, a terrorist position. Gaza is the worst place in the world. It must go through a restart. The majority of Gazans today don’t have a chance to rehabilitate themselves with Hamas there. They must do it somewhere else,” he said.

Palestinian workers

In the aftermath of the Oct. 7 massacre, the Israeli Cabinet decided that Palestinian workers would not be allowed to enter Israel. The restriction was lifted in late 2023.

Since then, Sukkot has demanded that the IDF cancel its policy of forcing towns in Judea and Samaria to admit them. Judea and Samaria are under the administrative control of the military, which has final say on whether Palestinian workers are permitted to enter.

“We didn’t succeed in preventing it. In Judea and Samaria, they enter from Ramallah, Shechem [i.e., Nablus] and Jenin—those terror cities—while in Ra’anana, Kfar Saba and the rest of the center, they don’t enter,” he said.

Sovereignty

Sukkot said that the absence of Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria is among the most difficult outcomes for the State of Israel since 1967.

“The entire world doesn’t understand what we want to do with that part of the country,” he said. “We annexed the Golan, we annexed Jerusalem; we need to do the same with Judea and Samaria. At first people will oppose it, but eventually they will accept it as an integral part of the State of Israel. Sovereignty there must happen,” he added.

On July 22, 71 out of 120 Knesset members passed a non-binding resolution in favor of applying Israeli sovereignty to Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley.

Lebanon

Sukkot is highly skeptical that the Lebanese Hezbollah terrorist group will agree to disarm, as required by the November 2024 ceasefire that ended a year of war.

“We need to stay on guard, destroy as much of their terror capabilities as possible, and move forward,” he said.

On Friday, the IDF attacked several Hezbollah positions in Southern Lebanon, in response to what it said were ongoing violations of the ceasefire agreement with Beirut.

The strikes hit a training compound used by Hezbollah’s Radwan Force for combat drills and weapons training, as well as military structures recently used to store weapons, according to the military.

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