Fond Memories of the First Palestinian Uprising

As Hamas reaches the end of its "ceasefire," I thought I would post this wonderfully antique quote that I found while rooting around through old boxes of papers.

This is from an interview published in the winter 1989 edition of the IDF Journal with the then-commander of Israeli forces in the West Bank, Maj. Gen. Amram Mitzna. The question was this: "When you consider the various results of the Uprising, what is the most difficult facet to deal with?"

Mitzna's answer is priceless, because it shows how far we've come: "From the point of view of the IDF," Mitzna said, "the most difficult problem today is rocks. I'm referring to the more 'intelligent' rocks thrown by a more selective population, that finds a tree, or house, or quiet corner, and waits. They throw their rocks mostly at civilian Israeli targets, such as buses taking children to school."

The theme of the first uprising was rocks. The theme of the second was suicide bombs. The third? Well, certainly not rocks.