Where The Line Is Drawn XIII

"The closure applied only to Palestinians, not to Israeli settlers, who could still come and go as they pleased and terrorize the population. Many settlers used Tireh Road, where I lived. One day, they stopped the mayor's son, his wife and his child in their car. They pointed their guns at him, intending to kill him, but the baby began to cry. The settlers said they would have killed him if it hadn't been for the child." (p. 106)

Underground leaders coordinated nonviolent resistance, such as the closing of shops early in the day.

"...the army came and closed the vegetable market. They turned over boxes of vegetables and threw the dough at the bakery on the ground. They then tried to force the shopkeepers to open their shops, but the whole town remained closed in solidarity." (ibid.)

(I am not quite sure about the use of prepositions in that second sentence: "...at the bakery on the ground.")

The Israelis wanted to show the visiting US Secretary of State, George Shultz, that they had the area under control. Hence, the attempt to suppress protest and also the deployment of a massive number of soldiers.

"During that week every single Palestinian in the street was stopped and had his or her identity card confiscated. The soldiers had orders to be as strict and brutal as possible." (p. 107)

Did the soldiers receive such orders or did they just act that way anyway? Shehadeh probably does know what orders they were given. In Britain, we can tell whether the police have been instructed to be hostile or helpful towards a demonstration. Once, many of us were pushed, shouted at and arrested, then released without charge.