From the article:
One weekday last year, at about three in the afternoon, Israeli armoured jeeps moved into the centre of Ramallah, pulling up outside the most popular hummus cafe.
In full view of passers-by, including children on their way back from school, the troops dragged a man in his early 20s out of the cafe. He was a wanted militant. They shot him - first in the legs, then stomach, then his head.
Within minutes, the "Palestinian reflex" had kicked in. Schoolboys piled into the area to throw stones at the soldiers until they left. As we arrived, the troops fired back with live bullets, injuring four people, before the jeeps sped out of the city.
Once the army had gone, I have to say, I was a little surprised to see grown Palestinian men standing by the side of the road, weeping and hugging, and teenagers who'd been throwing stones, breaking down.
But, of course blood is blood, and trauma is trauma.
Molly: Is resisting occupation a peculiarly Palestinian reflex? Can you imagine the things that would be thrown at soldiers who invaded the U.K.? And why is the author surprised to see grown men crying at the death of their countryman? Does he think that Palestinians don't feel pain like everyone else?
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