You know cases of people approaching APCs and tanks and trying to take down "mags"?They did occur at times. It was rare. Once every few months.

What were the instructions concerning this?A person mounting a tank is as good as dead. That was the battalion commander's explicit order.

Do you recall cases of baiting?"Straw Widow", yes. After we became professional at the checkpoints, we would go out on more complex missions, as it were, meaning that the company commander's staff went with us and the infantrymen. Either the tank or the APC would serve as bait – that was near the Mekashrim CP - one tank stayed on the lookout.

Bait for what?For disturbing the peace. Rioting. Throwing stones. The point was for the tank and APC to drive there, which would draw these actions out.

and then what?They were already out all the time, they had lookouts and all, but as soon as a military vehicle went by they would shower it with stones and sometimes Molotov-cocktails as well. So when a Molotov-cocktail thrower was to be taken down, if some company commander was bored, a 'Straw Widow' would be pulled. This means that a tank would pass, or the company commander's APC, and as soon as the thrower would stick his head out, and be identified as a Molotov-cocktail thrower, the infantry marksman would take him down.

These were paratroopers?Yes.

And they would fire only at the Molotov-cocktail throwers?That was the order, yes, or at armed men. But there were no armed men there. No armed men hang out freely in Nablus.

Were there cases of people being taken down there?I think it's that story of the gunner (the interviewee is referring to a case he told about at a different point in the interview, of opening fire towards a group of children, one of which had thrown a Molotov-cocktail, and the gunner could not identify his victim).

With such baiting?I think so. I know it worked. Also, the operational thinking behind this, too. . . to make them riot inside Nablus, not vent their anger outside the city, keep them from getting out. To give them a target inside Nablus, to rein them in. Keep them busy in town so they won't get out. Yes, which makes sense, in a way.