Middle East Issues - Israeli Collective Punishment

Bob's Definition:
If a suicide bomber from Bethlehem strikes Israel, Israel will put the entire community of Bethlehem under curfew. No one is allowed to leave their home. No one goes to work. No one goes to school. All night and day. And the next. And the next. And so on. And then maybe the bomber's family home will be demolished. And maybe his brother's home too. Maybe the Israelis will fly F16s over and bomb the Palestinian Authority police station. And maybe local families will have their homes destroyed in the process. This punishment of the community for the actions of the suicide bomber is called "collective punishment."

A Better Definition from Americans for Middle East Understanding:
Collective Punishment. Practice of punishing entire families, communities or groups for the act of an individual. Collective punishment, as practiced by Israel, takes the form of sealing or demolishing Palestinian homes, imposing curfews, erecting roadblocks, confiscating personal property, uprooting olive and other fruit trees (over 34,600 between Sept. 2000 and Feb. 2002), destroying water systems, and closing schools, colleges, markets, roads, and other gathering places. Collective punishment is prohibited by Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.