There are very clear directives, that whatever you take from a Palestinian vehicle, you bring to the operations room. I once found in a car, like, license plates and some sort of club, a strange stick. We simply knew to bring it to the operations room, to leave it in the operations room.

What do you mean by "club," a baseball bat, a stick, or…? What makes something a club? It’s not a broomstick that you can see connects to a broom head, it’s a relatively thick and long stick, and like, we don’t take chances.

Could you think of any other possible uses? It wasn’t something that you, like… It wasn’t part of a bed or a sofa or an Ikea table.

Did you ever encounter a Palestinian who tried to hit a soldier with a club? No, no. That proximity did not exist. That proximity is impossible.

So why are we actually afraid of clubs? Because in our mind it’s a means of causing harm.

But you never encountered that. I also follow the news relatively closely and haven’t heard of a case in which a Palestinian attacked a soldier or settler with a club. Yes, and it’s also not smart, like, a soldier has a weapon. If he sees someone with a club then he immediately cocks [his weapon].

So why [take it] anyway? Because, again, it’s part of the reality you’re entering. You enter a bubble wherein anything that shouldn’t be in the hands of a Palestinian in Hebron – should be in your hands.

But don’t you need some sort of probable cause to confiscate stuff? No, because ultimately, you have the backing. You're backed up, you tell the Company Commander hey, under my discretion as a commander I thought that he (the Palestinian) shouldn’t have this, and he’ll back you up completely.

And when you confiscate something from someone? In the end they’ll leave, bummed out. They’re bummed when stuff is confiscated from them, but on the other hand they’ll just be happy that they’ve been let go.

Are you obligated to give them any sort of document confirming that an IDF soldier indeed confiscated something from them? No, nothing.

Let’s say you confiscated something from a Palestinian, how can he later prove that something was confiscated from him and demand compensation? He can’t. And any reasonable person would understand that it would be a waste of his time, it’s a waste of his time to go and stand in line at the police station and wait.

Why is it a waste [of his time]? Because unless you're a Palestinian justice fighter and you want to invest your resources in it, these are things that as a Palestinian – I assume – I wouldn't waste my time on them. The less you interact with the Israeli authorities – the better, I think.