Ni'lin, 12/4/09. Photo by Yotam Ronen/Activestills
If you read my last post and are somewhat dubious at the suggestion that the IDF is looking for a “pretext” to deal violently with nonviolent Palestinian demonstrators, please read this new post on the website of Ni’lin village (the site of weekly nonviolent demonstrations):
A new U.S. diplomatic cable out of the American embassy in Tel Aviv from February 2010 reveals that Israelis at that time were becoming increasingly frustrated with non-violent demonstrations by Palestinians in the West Bank, specially in Ni’lin and Bil’in.
The cable — released recently by WikiLeaks — notes that one Israeli military official “warned that the IDF will start to be more assertive in how it deals with these demonstrations, even demonstrations that appear peaceful…”
Less violent demonstrations are likely to stymie the IDF. As (Ministry of Defense Political-Military affairs) chief Amos Gilad told (US government) interlocutors recently, “we don’t do Gandhi very well.”
Click here for the full article.
Shalom Rav 
My wife and I led a group of Americans to the West Bank, including home stays in and near Bil’in. It appears that the IDF’s only reponse to non violent demonstrations is to call them violent, and then react violently with tear gas and bullets. We are crossing our fingers that the Palestinians can remain disciplined and focused – they are getting closer to winning the battle for the conscience of the world. (To see reports of our trip go to
http://neighborseastandwest.org
Hear hear.