Israel’s internal security agency, the Shin Bet, or as it refers to itself in English, the ISA, does not provide public access to its archives and available records of its activities are few and far between. The telegram posted here is a rare exception. Sent from the office of the Shin Bet’s director in March 1988, during the early days of the first intifada, the telegram reveals the Shin Bet’s main recommendations for actions in the Occupied Territories. The document indicates the Shin Bet often used collective punishment and other measures designed to limit Palestinians’ political activism, increase their dependency on the Israeli authorities, and also simply as a show of force.

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Recommendations for Activities in the West Bank
March 1, 1988