Soldier: “We were lying in ambush on Mount Eval, in Nablus. We were sitting there in a post that is very high up – there was an approach road and no one drove on it except for our patrols and supplies. Once in a while one of our vehicles would be hit by Molotov cocktails up there. After a few such incidents we were told to lay an ambush. It was a Friday. We came out of the post at noon, and sat at some corner so we could see if anyone approached. There was this tiny Palestinian hamlet there, really small, and we sat to watch whether kids came up there and threw Molotov cocktails. If a kid was about to throw a Molotov cocktail, you’re allowed to shoot him.”

 

Interviewer: “Shoot to kill?”

 

Soldier: “Absolutely. That’s procedure. The moment you even see the lighter spark. So we are all out there, gung-ho, thinking we are going to shoot a Molotov cocktail thrower, and the trick was for some jeep to be driving up and down, in an attempt to heat up the kids. The jeep goes by and suddenly we see this group of kids coming out. I think they were holding some bag., I don’t remember exactly. We had a marksman, one of my buddies, and he’s sitting there with his M24 (marksmen’s rifle), aiming at one of the kids, and I realize that this story is over, no one is getting killed. He asks the officer if its okay to release the safety catch. The officer tells him it’s fine, and he does, and we’re waiting. There’s this moment where you’re at the edge of your nerves, like: What’s going to happen? And suddenly – boom! – the marksman’s rifle lets off a shot. We see kids scatter in all directions, running like hell, and we have no idea what happened because we know he was aiming and we don’t know whether the kid was hit or not. We report on the radio, fold up, the platoon commander was grounded or something, and my buddy wasn’t really punished.”

 

Interviewer: “Did he hit the kid?”

 

Soldier: “No …”

 

Interviewer: “You said they were holding a bag. Did they aim at the one holding the bag?”

 

Soldier: “That’s a spot that Molotov cocktails are often thrown from.”

 

Interviewer: “But a Molotov cocktail is a bottle, not a bag.”

 

Soldier: “But you always have to assume that that’s what’s in the bag. You get it?”

 

Interviewer: “What ages were these kids?”

 

Soldier: “Little – 13, 14, 15.”