A riot is usually, it would often come from Yitzhar, in general. I guess most people know that it’s a settlement that often has very negative connotations in terms of everything that’s going on in Judea and Samaria. A riot usually begins with a few things: first of all, there was the issue where sometimes Jews themselves would start fires in the surrounding hills, which automatically draws Palestinians out. Which also on its own, a fire can go on for two hours in Judea and Samaria, until some sort of firefighter arrives. We would get sent to, like, put out fires sometimes. I’d get sent with a jerrycan or something to try to put out a fire. Like, on that level, there’s no one in charge.

What, like, arson? Arson. And there’s no one in charge, like, you can wait for firefighters as if you’re on hold on the phone with social security, you can really wait for three hours until someone answers you.

Where would these arson [attacks] usually happen? In the hilltops surrounding Yitzhar.

And then what happens? The Palestinians come out of the village. It often comes down to where, like, both the Palestinians and the Jews would – it was a very powerful tool there – to commit arson sometimes, just to stir things up a bit. Jews would do it, too, and so would Arabs. And that's it, and then it happens. Usually, the confrontation was only with the Palestinians, but it also happened a few times that Jews would also head down and then there’s like an exchange, conflicts suddenly start, and then we have to head down to separate. I really remember that there were also clashes when the Palestinians really walked up almost all the way to Yitzhar and then, like, fled, and then they (settlers from Yitzhar) told us to try to catch them and whatnot.

Let's try for a moment to understand the chronology of such an event. You say, settlers come down from Yitzhar, set some field on fire, Palestinians leave the village, and...? Then a physical confrontation begins between people who don’t like one other. It’s like two drunk guys in a bar who slept with the same girl. I’m just kidding, but yeah, it usually comes down to physical confrontations. It reaches a bit of cursing, a bit of that.

And then you’re called up to the site. We’re called up to the site. We’re often already there, say at 'Baz' (an IDF base located near the settlement of Yitzhar) you often see it happening live, from the base.

So how do you respond to such an incident? Wow, they were terrible incidents. They’re usually the incidents, say if the Jews started the fire, you come with these [fire] beaters, put out the fires. I remember now how we would put them out with those beaters. If it's Jews and Arabs then it often also comes down to firing [tear] gas grenades, smoke grenades, stun grenades.

In which direction? In the direction of the Palestinians. I don’t remember us using riot dispersal gear toward Jews.

How does the arson of a field result in a Palestinian riot? Because it just creates automatic friction. They see a fire and it’s already really familiar, both sides know what leads to what. Like, they see a fire on a hilltop, they know it didn’t just happen on its own, it’s likely one side trying to provoke the other. Whether it comes from the Palestinians, whether it comes from the Jews. And it's simple, it's the same chronology every time. The soldiers just arrive, try to put it out. If the Jews come, then they try to separate.

How? That’s what I’m trying to understand. The goal is to drive [them] out. You’re driving the Palestinians out with riot dispersal gear, which sometimes also reaches [the stage of] rubber [bullets], and rubber [bullets] are a really unpleasant tool. I really didn’t relate, so to speak. And [with] the Jews it’s just, like, more through dialogue like, really trying to be gentle with them.