Talk:2000 Ramallah lynching

Spelling Vadim Nurzhitz

There is much confusion about the surname of one of lynched soldiers (originally in Russian), because written in Hebrew as נורז'יץ it can be pronounced in several ways. To get original pronounciation back, one needs to search Google for the surname without the first name. Google:нуржиц gives a lot of Nurzhitz persons irrelevant to the event. All other searches bring only results somehow connected to the lynching and thus are most probably distorted by wrong reading. --Yms (talk) 16:07, 5 July 2009 (UTC)

non combatant soldiers

non combatants are civilians. Soldiers are NOT noncombantants, even if not in uniform, offduty, or members of underground security force ? They could also be terrorists. That is correct. According to international humanitarian law, anyone can be considered a combatant if they are performing a military function. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.11.11.195 (talk) 20:26, 13 October 2010 (UTC)

Fixed. Soldiers are combatants. Also, the article nowhere noted that the incident took place in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, nor that the soldiers were participating in the military occupation. Note was made of the former, which I think is essential context; omitted the latter as perhaps suggesting POV. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.163.139.11 (talk) 23:39, 19 October 2010 (UTC)

The term "accidentally" made a wrong turn is missing verifiable sources. 'Merikan (talk) 22:34, 9 November 2009 (UTC)

I don't understand what your point is in your first comment. Regarding your second comment, a wrong turn is by definition accidental. The precise wording "wrong turn" is used in sources #2 and #5. Note that the lead is a summary of the article and does not need to be sourced as long as the corresponding content in the article is. Jalapenos do exist (talk) 23:12, 9 November 2009 (UTC)

In response to his first point, there are "noncombatant" soldiers - such as engineers, drivers, clerical personnel. These soldiers served in noncombatant roles - drivers.ShamWow (talk) 23:20, 9 November 2009 (UTC)

There are "noncombatant" soldiers, but I believe these were not drivers for the IDF at the time of the incident, but civilians in general reserve. In Israel, all adult citizens below 40 are in general reserve, to be called on in case of war. Similar rules exist in many countruies, for example they existed in the Soviet Union. These should properly be refered to as civilians. After all, the Russians killed in suicide bombing in Moscow subway on March 29, 2010 ar refered to as civilians, even if the men were in general reserve. Changing "two non-combatant Israeli reservists (serving as drivers)" to "Israeli civilians". (76.94.127.254 (talk) 21:59, 2 April 2010 (UTC))

Where they or where they not on duty as reservists? The answer appears to be that they were in fact on duty. Therefore, I would not characterize them as civilians but "non-combatant Israeli reservists".— Preceding unsigned comment added by Plot Spoiler (talk • contribs) .

Sorry, I disagree: If you are on reserve duty, whatever your job is, you are a combatant. The use of the term "non-comabant reservists" to discribe 'miluimnikim' (reservists in Hebrew> is misleading and my suspicion is that the author is attempting to futher add to the weight of the horror of the attack. This is completely unnecessary as even if they were undercover IDF soldiers, they still were entitled to humane treatment and due process at the hands of the Palestinian authorities and as they were in custody, were entitled to the protection of the Police. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 214.27.58.129 (talk) 07:48, 29 January 2011 (UTC)

Yossi <--> Yosef

• Multiple sources give Avrahami 's name as Yosef, as forex Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our own article on Ramallah. I mention this because for about ten minutes I was convinced that there was no article on this incident – I had been searching for Yosef Avrahami. • Ling.Nut 13:18, 3 January 2010 (UTC)

Is Yossi a shortened form or nickname? AnonMoos (talk) 21:55, 4 January 2010 (UTC)

I have no idea. One day soon I'll alter the article to add the other spellings of BOTH names; you can do it if you like. Look at my contribs (see the redirects I made) for the spellings. • Ling.Nut 00:10, 5 January 2010 (UTC)

Yossi is definitely a shortened form for Yosef. The latter is formal, but Yossi has been much more widely used in the media. --Yms (talk) 09:18, 26 January 2010 (UTC)

Dancing with pieces of human flesh

Although I do not have a specific source at this moment, there is a picture I have seen many times of Palestinians celebrating, holding pieces of human flesh. At least this is how the picture was described. The description refers to this incident. The photo shows several men of Middle Easter appearance holding pieces of flesh and something that lookes like gut, with intense emotion on their faces. I believe this to be an important detail, so I am putting it in. I will add a reference when I find it. (76.94.127.254 (talk) 21:59, 2 April 2010 (UTC))

There is also something else missing here: The Palastinian Police Commander attempted to protect the soldiers, along with others from his force and contacted the IDF to arrange a collection. He rebuked the officers for bringing them to the station and when they lynch occured protected one of them by sitting on him until he was hit over the head with a fax machine. In a BBC documentary he descibed the feeling of shame that this could have of occured on his watch. If I remember correctly, as he had attempted to return the Soldiers to the IDF, he was warned by telephone by the IDF to evacuate the building as it was to be attacked by helicopters. I have no references right now, but will attempt to identify the BBC documentary where this is described. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 214.27.58.129 (talk) 07:54, 29 January 2011 (UTC)

New suspects arrested

See [|this] article - 2 more suspects recently arrested who confessed to being involved:

The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), IDF, and Judea and Samaria district police arrested two men who confessed to taking part in the brutal October 2000 lynch of two IDF soldiers, security forces announced Thursday.

The arrests came after the Shin Bet and police uncovered an extensive Hamas terror structure in Ramallah and the Binyamin region, and arrested other suspects along with the two men.

In June, security forces arrested the Palestinian security suspects, some of whom formed a Hamas field command in that region of the West Bank, police said.

Two of those questioned confessed to being involved in the beating to death of IDF reservists Yossi Avrahami and Vadim Nurzhitz at the PA Ramallah police station, where the two were taken after getting lost.

The two suspects were charged at the Judea Military Court on August 5, police added.

I'd put it in under arrest of suspects, but the last bulet point says that the arrested person was the last person involved. Therefore, I want to make sure everyone is OK with me removing that wording, since he clearly wasn't. --Activism1234 16:00, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

That sounds logical (unless there was some qualitative difference between those apprehended, though none of the articles indicate that), so content with you proceeding though seems that Reenem already got to it. Plot Spoiler (talk) 01:18, 10 August 2012 (UTC)

Thanks, but I noticed that another editor has already made the appropriate changes a bit after I posted this on the talk page. --Activism1234 01:22, 10 August 2012 (UTC)

Violent murder

Aren't all murders violent? It is referred to that way in the first paragraph. Rephrase? Coretheapple (talk) 21:25, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

I've done some rephrasing. Coretheapple (talk) 15:38, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

Some are actually more brutal/bloody than others. Smothering someone in their sleep with a pillow could be just as morally repugnant, but it lacks a certain apparent bloodlust factor when compared to a frenzied mob tearing someone limb-from-limb... AnonMoos (talk) 22:18, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

Definitely. I just thought the phrasing needed reworking. Is it OK now? Coretheapple (talk) 00:40, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Tone

Another observation: the tone of the article is overwrought. I realize it was a brutal murder, but the facts speak for themselves and do not require amplification. Coretheapple (talk) 20:40, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

CAMERA

A small edit war appears to be brewing over the use of advocacy organization CAMERA as a source in this article. I have removed the content for now. There may be secondary source coverage of Alex Safian's comments but it's not obvious why this content qualifies for inclusion. The sanctions remind editors to utilize reliable sources for contentious or disputed assertions and everything here has to be notable. Plot Spoiler has been removing lots of sources that don't qualify as RS, such as www.ifamericansknew.org and many others, which is good, but restored CAMERA, which seems inconsistent, at least to me. There's no harm in it staying out for now while it's discussed, but it needs to be discussed. Sean.hoyland - talk 09:22, 5 September 2013 (UTC)

Restoring Camera seems very consistent with plot spolier's edits to me. If a third party had reported on Camera's comments that would make their statements notable, but right now thee is just a whole lot of "this is my opinion" - signed Camera (who?). Not only that, but they also make laughable statements, of course added in quotes so non-camera editors don't edit out the stupidity, like "the very successful campaign by Palestinians to control western media" haha. Sepsis II (talk) 16:34, 5 September 2013 (UTC)

please refrain from editing (and following me around) if you can't do elementary homework

This edit makes a mess of an easily ascertainable viewpoint, by attributing it to one person, when it was widely reported as being the shared belief of Palestinians there at the time. I.e. Pratt's book mentions it as well. It is absolutely irrelevant that the correspondent now works for Al Jazeera, anymore than it would be relevant to say Pratt works for the Scottish Herald as their Middle Eastern reporter

• Sumaya Farhat-Naser,Le cri des oliviers: une Palestinienne en lutte pour la paix, Labor et Fides, 2004 p.208
• 'Lynch mob's brutal attack,' BBC News 13 October 2000.

This outburst of fury apparently stemmed from rumours circulating through the mob that the captives belonged to the feared and hated undercover units of the Israeli army which dress as Arabs and strike in the heart of Palestinian towns. Earlier this week, the badly beaten body of a Palestinian, Issam Hamad, was found dumped on the outskirts of Ramallah. Palestinians blamed his death on Israeli settlers.

• Ann LoLordo and Mark Matthews, 'Few see possibility for partnership in peace,' The Baltimore Sun October 15, 2000

He pointed to the Palestinian casualties. He spoke of the week-old disappearance and death of Issam Hamad, a 39-year-old father of five, who Palestinians believe was tortured and killed by Jewish settlers, an accusation that exacerbated the rioting in Ramallah during two days. Israeli police say Hamad was killed in an automobile accident. But he identified the underlying cause of the rage as the failed peace process: its never-ending delays, the unabated expansion of Jewish settlements in Palestinian areas and the overall economic decline in the territories.

• You also excised without explanation 'reportedly while returning to his village in Umm Safa'

(To self. Probably IP banned editor, trying to tagteam and push me over the 1R limit).Nishidani (talk) 14:47, 19 May 2015 (UTC)

On sensitive issues, you better find better sources. Note, your other sources do not mention Halamish and 'attributed' is very strong in comparison to 'Palestinians believe' or 'Palestinians blamed'. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.86.77.77 (talk) 19:45, 19 May 2015 (UTC)

'your other sources do not mention Halamish'. Thanks for the public admission you haven't read the sources.Nishidani (talk) 19:54, 19 May 2015 (UTC)

I read what you posted here. Why won't you note 'to self' to stick to the facts and place them in the appropriate place in articles? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.86.77.77 (talk) 21:25, 19 May 2015 (UTC)

While we are at it, the two more reliable sources say Palestinians 'believed' they were kidnapped w/o mentioning Halamish. Madam Naser, a peace activists gives it as a fact. That just comes to show you she is completely unreliable source. Find something better, then you can take out attribution. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.86.77.77 (talk) 21:38, 19 May 2015 (UTC)

Nope. You misread the English, by not taking into account the passive tense and the accompanying note from Pratt.

I wrote:'days earlier, the badly beaten body of Issam Hamad (36) had been dumped outside of the city, and his murder, reportedly while returning to his village in Umm Safa, was attributed to settlers in Halamish.

Pratt writes, for those checking the footnote:'Locals were in no doubt that Israeli settlers were to blame for his killing.'

'was attributed' in that context means 'by Palestinian locals'. If troubled, you could simply have added 'by Palestinian locals' rather than attributing to it to one person (Marwan Bishara.

What he reports is backed by Sumaya Farhat Naser and PASSIA as what local Palestinians thought at the time, rightly or wrongly

PALESTINE FACTS Passia 8 October 2000:.'The body of Isam Hamad, 36, from Um Safa near Ramallah is found in a field near the settlement of Halamish; evidence suggests that he was tortured and killed by settlers.'

When several sources state what a community believed, you don't single out a person, give his contemporary employer's name, and attribute to him or her. And don't excise contextual detail (on his way home) that is relevant.Nishidani (talk) 22:22, 19 May 2015 (UTC)

Speaking of reading the footnotes and sources and stuff, could you kindly explain how Pratt's "nearly two dozen" children became "dozens" of children in your edit? Also, how did Dor's "some of them" administrators and cooks become "mainly" cooks and administrators? No More Mr Nice Guy (talk) 23:46, 19 May 2015 (UTC)

Shocking. I should be lynched for such undersights. Nishidani (talk) 06:44, 20 May 2015 (UTC)

The 'reportedly' joke needs to be over. You fight against credibility of some sources but wholehearted adopted 'reportedly' (or in other word - 'he said, she said - we can't confirm') as a mechanism to 'kosher' garbage. It was never confirmed by any investigation (PA, Israel, UN as far as the sources you brought). 'Attributed' is very far from 'believed by Palestinians'. Don't act as if you don't see it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 37.60.44.241 (talk) 09:02, 20 May 2015 (UTC)

What a vile thing for you to say Nishidani, to make light of the terrible fate the two individuals suffered in the subject of this article. If you're not willing to seriously address the matter, it simply adds to the body of evidence that you are engaged in a POV pushing campaign by mischaracterizing even the most minute details to further demonize Israel. Plot Spoiler (talk) 15:29, 20 May 2015 (UTC)

Sure. Add it to the proofs No More Mr Nice Guy kept adding to his old user page that I am a vicious anti-Semite. The only edits he made there over the past two years were with this intent. I have no ethnic divide in my feelings: what happened in Ramallah, despite the difference in scale, evokes the same revulsion I felt for 51 days in watching the murder of 2000 people in Gaza by high precision artillery and bombing. When I see you all writing with equal precision on casualties on both sides I will convert, and convince myself that your capacity for pity and horror are not ethnic-exclusive. Nishidani (talk) 16:42, 20 May 2015 (UTC)

You just made a joke about two people who were lynched and their bodies mutilated, in response to a query about what is quite obviously you fabricating information and attributing it to a source. And you have the audacity to lecture other editors about "precision" and "pity" that's not being "ethnic-exclusive"? That's hilarious even from you. You should be ashamed of yourself, but you obviously lack the capacity. No More Mr Nice Guy (talk) 17:30, 20 May 2015 (UTC)

No. I made a joke about being put on the gallows for minor slips. It's called Gallows Humour. If you wish to make a case, like the fatuous attempt today, that I fake information (Accusation, Reply, Apology ), take it to the relevant bored (another pun: without a sense of humour or irony, no normal human being can edit here for long).Nishidani (talk) 17:37, 20 May 2015 (UTC)

Yeah, what passes for normal nowadays can turn one's stomach. Apropos my user page, which was not about you but about Wikipedia and Western society in general. You're just a symptom. No More Mr Nice Guy (talk) 18:06, 20 May 2015 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 1 May 2017

Dear sirs, The following paragraph is factually incorrect, the source questionable (a book written from purely a Palestinian narrative). I checked exhaustively, including your own Wiki pages on the subject: in the whole of 1999, there were a total of only 8 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces. In 2000, most of them in October of that year, there were 13 killed (and 4 Israelis). So it is inconceivable that over 100 were killed in the months claimed in just Ramalleh, when we have Jenin and Nablus and Bethlehem and so many other territories. This is not only a wildly exaggerrated claim, but wholly dishonest... designed to try and justify the ripping apart of these two reservists.

Incorrect quote pasted here:

Tensions were running high: over 100 Palestinians, nearly two dozen of them minors, had been killed in the preceding two weeks in violent protests with Israelis forces in Ramallah, 86.147.20.36 (talk) 17:53, 1 May 2017 (UTC)

Source? פשוט pashute ♫ (talk) 09:18, 10 May 2017 (UTC)

That's true, I couldn't find any source to confirm the numbers. Suggest to remove.Ashkaf (talk) 14:43, 8 May 2017 (UTC)

Details below:

+1=1. On "Land day" 2000 there was one woman claimed but never confirmed to have been killed when a group of Arabs infiltrated an Israeli military base and attacked the soldiers there with live fire from guns they held.

From April 3-12 there were several demonstrations by Arab and opposing Jewish students at Israeli universities. No one was killed.

During the Israeli Independence Day there were major demonstrations held in Arab residential areas in Israel. No one was killed or wounded.

In July the Camp David accords failed.

At a memorial session for the late Syrian president Hafez El-Assad, Arab Member of Knesset (Israeli parliament) Azmi Bishara called for an armed fight against Israel and openly supported the Hizbullah.

September 27th: During the clashes on the temple mount no one was killed. 25 Arab demonstrators and 28 Israeli policemen were wounded, most of them Arabs too.

The October clashes (The second Intifadah):

+7=8 September 29th: Violent demonstrations ensued, and it was reported that cars were being stopped and checked for their Jewish inhabitants, who were then attacked. The Israeli police opened fire and killed 7 Arabs. Five of them were members of the Palastinian Police (in effect the Palestinian armed forces) and one was a young boy.

+1=9 September 30th: In the Gaza strip, there were demonstrations held near the Netzarim junction. Muhammad A-Dura was seen shot and killed. The shooting and killing of the boy have been generally accepted as true and caused fury in the Arab population, leading to demonstrations throughout the country. It should be noted that the Israeli military claimed at first that the shooting could not have been from the Israeli side, and later it was shown that the images were taken during a staged attack for the Palestinian media, leading to claims by Israeli sources that the killing was faked.

+3=12 October 1st: Violent demonstrations, mainly on the main road in Wadi Arah, one of the roads connecting the coastal plain and northern Israel. Cars of civilian Jews were attacked. 3 Arabs were killed by the Israeli police: 2 in Um El Fahm and 1 in Gat. All three were Israeli citizens.

+5=17 October 2nd: During continued clashes, the police opened fire and killed 5 Arabs of Israeli citizenship in 4 different locations. (Two at Teradion junction, the rest in Um El Fahm, Nazareth and near Lotem junction).

+1=18 October 3rd: Ehud Barak met with the "Arab Follow-up Committee" and the violence receded to a degree, but 1 Arab of Israeli citizenship was killed at Kafer Kanna.

October 6th: Although Arab Rage day was declared, the demonstrations receded.

October 7th: In a Hizbullah attack from Lebanon, two Israeli soldiers were kidnapped. Following that demonstrations were renewed and one Jewish Israeli was killed by the demonstrators stoning his car.

+2=20 October 8th: Demonstrations throughout Israel. Police killed 2 Arab citizens of Israel in Nazareth.

October 10th: End of clashes and demonstrations. No casualties.

Any more? פשוט pashute ♫ (talk) 09:18, 10 May 2017 (UTC)

OK. According to Palestinian sources and B'tselem, there are more. Most of them children and teenagers. I'm not sure if they have been authenticated. Please see: List of Palestinian civilian casualties in the Second Intifada and its source here. In some cases it is stated that the people were killed during armed clashes between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Only in some cases the list confirms that these civilians were killed by Israeli gunfire. But I am counting it as listed:

+3=23 September 30th, 3 teenagers were killed in the Palestinian Authority. Two near Ramallah and one near Ayosh Junction.

+4=27 October 1st, according to Palestinian sources a child and a teenager were killed during a targeted helicopter attack by the Israeli Air Force in Nablus, in the PA, and two teenagers were shot and killed during clashes with the Military, at Netzarim junction in the south and Ayosh junction near Ramallah, both in the PA.

+2=29 October 2nd, 2 teenagers shot and killed in the PA. One in Nablus and one in Tulkarem.

+1=30 October 4, child killed at Netzarim Junction (I'm beginning to get suspicious...)

+1=31 October 6, Teenager shot and killed in East Jerusalem

+2=33 October 7, Teenager shot and killed in Gaza. (This is the day of the Hizbulla Kidnapping attack and the Israeli withdrawal under fire from Nablus) Man killed by settlers at Bidya in the PA.

+1=34 October 10, Child shot and killed in Rafah by Israeli border police

+1=35 October 11, Tulkarem bystander killed in Al Fawar camp near Hebron.

פשוט pashute ♫ (talk) 17:40, 10 May 2017 (UTC)

In any case they are not "clashes in Ramallah" and not in two weeks. So that saying is obviously false. פשוט pashute ♫ (talk) 17:43, 10 May 2017 (UTC)

Not done: please establish a consensus for this alteration before using the {{edit extended-protected}} template. jd22292 (Jalen D. Folf) 17:03, 1 July 2017 (UTC)

"Accidentally"

Huldra: Firstly, if you object that one word ("accidentally"), you can edit it out instead of undoing the entire revision. Second, all of the sources that I know of from that time have either stated that much or assumed that much; none objected. Third, the text states that they were "rookies, unfamiliar with the road system" for a reason, and you seem to take no issue with that. Fourth, and in fitting with all of the above: plain, simple and common sense suggests no unarmed, middle aged reservist with no combat experience would drive a civilian vehicle into hostile territory intentionally.

Eagerly awaiting your comment. François Robere (talk) 08:53, 6 August 2017 (UTC)

On these things we know nothing of the actual facts leading up to the slaughter, since they come from a few army sources. We know an immense amount about the impact and the use of the incident in media battles. Someone who can might download Zohar Kampf, 'Blood on their hands:the story of a photograph in the Israeli national discourse,' Semiotica 162,1-4 (2006) pp.263-285 which is a seminal study of the spin that followed and would be important for this article. 'Accidentally' is, however sourced, how th e IDF construed what happened to the press. We have, obviously, absolutely no way of knowing why the two reservists took that turn (only they could confirm it was an accident). The sources trouble me because they talk of soldiers called up as reserves 'rookies'. That is a contradiction in terms: you cannot do 3 years of military service, as both the soldiedrs had done, and then be called a 'rookie' (some one in his first year of service'. Jeezus. Why don't people pay attention to language any more: reports are full of such crappy slipshod spinning written by boilerplate hacks, and we should be neutral. You can only use 'accidentally' with attribution.Nishidani (talk) 15:27, 6 August 2017 (UTC)

Do you have any concrete argument against accepting those sources, or not? You can't pick and choose sources just because they suit you, especially when they make reasonable claims that have not been clearly refuted.

Regarding "rookies": As far as I can see it's implied in one source, the text of which I do not have, so I cannot say whether the source actually makes use of that term. I can very well see how a mistranslation coupled with their actual service records (eg. no experience in the WB) would result in the term "rookie" being used in that case. François Robere (talk) 17:15, 6 August 2017 (UTC)

In writing articles on conflicts the primary policy is WP:NPOV, which, notoriously, is what most editors never consider. They google to get 'stuff' for their cause, as I believe you did here. One sure way to get WP:NPOV, esp, when the sources are contaminated by ethnic biases and national spin, is to pare down the narrative to the absolute bones, and give the ascertained facts. That is why adverbs and adjectives, even when they are in sources, are dropped. One is not subservient to source language: one winnows the rhetoric and gets to the straight, known narrative. Here we know they were to go to a mustering point. They drove past their own military checkpoinrt (that itself is very odd_ if they did not know the roads, why did they not ask the checkpoint men on duty?) and ended up, in a civilian car, in Ramallah, where a crowd massacred them as a vendetta for 2 incidents that had occurred earlier, of Israeli violence, mistaking them for infiltrated agents. That's what we know.Nishidani (talk) 17:52, 6 August 2017 (UTC)

Dear, WP:NPOV wasn't designed to prevent my edit (which made explicit what the article already implied), but rather yours. What's odd about them driving past the checkpoint? Why do you believe they did not ask for directions? What's strange in them driving a civilian car? And who exactly gave the story of the Palestinian mob, including references to vendetta and and mistaken identities? And why do you accept parts of some narrative ("they were to go to a mustering point") but not others ("accidentally")? All that is hardly "the absolute bones" of the story, as much as a narrative you gathered yourself. François Robere (talk) 22:19, 6 August 2017 (UTC)

Jeezus. Reread my remarks closely. I am not suggesting anything above as an edit, except the known facts. Those facts can lend themselves to lots of speculation because we have no solid analysis (that I know of, from a detailed follow up report and investigation). Facts alone are what we need, and 'accidentally' is speculative, just as I gave other examples of natural speculation that could be attached to the event, burt which are not required.Nishidani (talk) 22:48, 6 August 2017 (UTC)

You started that list of speculations with "[a careful reader] gets to the straight, known narrative. Here we know they..." and ended it with "That's what we know." Your words. François Robere (talk) 09:17, 7 August 2017 (UTC)

Nishidani So you just reverted my edit with a partially incomprehensible explanation ("Accidentally with attribution, but not in lead"?); removing stuff that weren't even part of my edit ("rookies removed as apatent nonsense" - and that's still under discussion, isn't it?); and referring to this talk page which you no longer seem to check ("See talk"). Care to explain? Also: would both you and Huldra care to avoid reverting a change set if you only object one change? François Robere (talk) 20:02, 7 August 2017 (UTC)

Reread the thread above. Remember, you broke 1R, persist in reverting, and you have no consensus. The explanations of what you are doing wrong are given already. Nishidani (talk) 20:09, 7 August 2017 (UTC)

1. Most sources (if not all of them) say these guys entered Ramallah accidentally. It is stated as fact often. An editor's personal view that nobody could know if it's true or not is irrelevant. That's what the sources use, that's what the article should say.
2. In Israel, new immigrants are often drafted directly into the reserves. Thus reservists that are rookies. This is what the sources say that they are, so again, an editor not liking this sourced information is not a good enough reason to remove it.
3. I like how certain people who complain often about tag teaming seem to think it's ok for them to do here, pointing out 1RR. Funny.

No More Mr Nice Guy (talk) 02:05, 8 August 2017 (UTC)

If your humour is tickled by 2 experienced editors observing an 1R infraction, and exercising restraint not to report the fact and get the editor sanctioned, fine. (a) no one has shown 'accidentally' is in most sources (on the first day reports it isn't) (b) no one has explained that the two soldiers were 'new immigrants' drafted into the reserve as soon as they got off the plane with one promoted immediately to Ist sergeant status. I'd appreciate some enlightenment about this peculiar intuition. Nishidani (talk) 06:05, 8 August 2017 (UTC)

I gave my opinion of lawfare and how you practice it above. Regarding a) I asked you for a single contradictory source, and you're yet to supply one; regarding b) I asked you if you had their service records, and you do not. If you had asked instead of conjectured, you would have gotten an explanation, but instead you're constantly reversing my edits (in bulk!) based on nothing but your own guesswork. François Robere (talk) 06:31, 8 August 2017 (UTC)

I didn't want to get there just yet, but indeed Nishidani seems to have no idea a) how Wikipedia should work; b) the subject matter. I've challenged him on both, and got only a handful of snarky comments and "logical" conjectures (you can see my talk page for more). Regarding the latter: a) Indeed, immigrants above a certain age will be drafted in Israel directly to the reserves; b) one of the two victims was an adult migrant; c) both held enlisted ranks, one of which a rank that can be considered a "rookie" rank (Corporal - רב"ט); d) the road system in the WB is a mess, and it is entirely possible to arrive at hostile territory even with state-of-the-art navigation aids.[1] François Robere (talk) 06:31, 8 August 2017 (UTC)

No More Mr Nice Guy I've incorporated several revisions into one. The main thing I'd like you to take a look at is the reference to police taking part in the acts; as far as I can see in the existing sources, we only have the contradictory official versions on that (IL MFA vs PA), so I've cast that as "disputed" in the lead. Other than that the current version seems to me much better than the previous ones. François Robere (talk) 13:00, 8 August 2017 (UTC)

First you broke 1R, and I noted and ignored it. Now you are writing personal attacks. Please desist, and try and focus on the editing issue. I am extremely busy and have plenty of material to underwrite my remarks, only my time is limited for these nonsense articles, where even a comma can cause upsets. I'll do so in good time, on the principle: when there's a problem, look into it before shooting off one's mouth. Someone can start by telling me how someone fresh off the airplane can be drafted into a reserve immediately as a Ist class sergeant. Nishidani (talk) 09:22, 8 August 2017 (UTC)

This is rapidly getting silly. I might disagree with NMMGG's choices, but he modified a text respecting some adjustments which are elementary grammatical corrections. You won't even compromise on that, and have restored the inept grammar I corrected. One doesn't get one's way on everything,, down to the point of writing incompetently.

. Palestinian policemen did not prevent, and in some cases actually took part in the lynching.

NMMGG. The lead summarizes, and this can't go there obviously because the body of the text documents that a mob broke in, overwhelmed the police some of whom were injured, and some indeed then joined in. (We have the testimony of the commander himself that when the storming of the PA station began, the men were removed to what was thought to be a safe room (not that I think he should be believed: but it is one version by an eyewitness). How you can be a 'rookie' draftee when you have been an adult citizen of Israel for a decade, is still obscure.Nishidani (talk) 14:30, 8 August 2017 (UTC)

I think it's a great summary. Did the police prevent the lynching? Obviously they didn't. Why they didn't may be disputed, but that's for the body of the article. Did some join the lynch? They did indeed. What's wrong with this summary other than it the fact it makes it slightly more difficult to justify the unjustifiable?

There's nothing "obscure" about how someone can be a rookie draftee as an adult. Your being ignorant of a subject doesn't make it obscure. Read up on Shlav Bet. No More Mr Nice Guy (talk) 16:52, 8 August 2017 (UTC)

Several book sources state the police withdrew the two to a safe room, that the corps was overwhelmed, and then, rather than shoot their own, they gave up and the massacre occurred. That's the Palestinian version, no more reliable or unreliable than the Israeli official version, since misrepresentation is a common vice shared by both parties. So it ain't a great summary. Nort even in the classic wild West did a sheriff and a few deputies prevail against a mob. Whatever, it is WP:OR and has to go. Only one source says a rookie. And, try to stop the silly attack mode. Several comments and edits above (one of my own included) showed unfamiliarity with the available sources. And they must prevail against some second-guessing based on an ostensible intimacy with the nature of Israeli reserve unit practices.Nishidani (talk) 17:34, 8 August 2017 (UTC)

Regarding grammar: I've already given you an answer on my talk page. Regarding WP:NOR: Why? François Robere (talk) 17:55, 8 August 2017 (UTC)

Nope. Philology is a science, and what you wrote and keep reverting to, ain't grammastical. Now can we get back to the use of the word 'rookie' to explain why Yossi Avrahami, for one, at 37-8 years of age, had managed to avoid the compulsory 3 years of military service?Nishidani (talk) 18:19, 8 August 2017 (UTC)

Exactly! It "ain't grammastical" - it must stay! François Robere (talk) 20:11, 8 August 2017 (UTC)

I'll be reverting back to the text as NMMHH edited it, save for the addition to the lead, which must be removed because it contradicts both the text leads are supposed to summarize and because it ignores a good part of some evidence, some of which I provide below:

• Lisa Beyer, 'Breaking Point,' CNN News, October 16, 2000

'Palestinian police took the two reservists into a nearby station and, for a time, kept the mob at bay. But some of the vigilantes entered through a second-floor window.

David Pratt, Intifada: Palestine and Israel - The Long Day of Rage, Casemate/Flashpoint, 2007 p.103

Colonel

Kamal al-Sheikh, Ramalah’s Chief of Police, took over. After a phone call alerted him. He found one in his undershirt he called for backup but the unit could nort make it through the crowd. He took them to a safe room offered one of them a cigarette. His cheeks were bleeding. They were both hurt, but fully conscious. I reassured them, saying that I would do whatever I could to save them. They were every frightened.

Daniel Dor, Intifada Hits the Headlines: How the Israeli Press Misreported the Outbreak of the Second Palestinian Uprising, Indiana University Press, 2004 pp.123ff

'Amira Hass reports that about 13 Palestinian policemen were wounded while trying t stop the lunch, and a similar claim appears in Ma’ariv’s report. None of the newspapers thought these testimonies worthy of highlighting. P124-125 ‘the Ramallah station police wear black uniforms, while the policemen seen participating in the Lynch wore combat fatigues. This fact, mentioned only by Amira Hass, . .indicates that the policemen who participated in the Lynch may have come to the station with the funeral crowd.... Gideon Levi interviewed the Ramallah station commander, Colonial Kamel A- Sheikh. The interview was published, quite appropriately, on Haaretz’s front page. . .According to A-Sheikh, there were twenty-one policemen at the station when the mob broke in,some of them administrators and cooks. Most policemen were scattered throughout the city because of the demonstrators’ funerals that were taking place at the time. He said that the few policemen at the station were unable to stop the raging crowd, and he claimed that when the mobv tried to break into the station, he moved the Israeli soldiers to the safest room in the building and even offered one of them a cigarette before the mob broke into the room.'

Now, instead of edit warring can serious proposals be made on the talk page so we can make some adjustments strictly according to the known RS textual evidence? Nishidani (talk) 20:13, 8 August 2017 (UTC)