The reason for the bulldozing is that it was a punitive measure because Jewish settlers had been killed. On the same day that the homes were destroyed, the IDF cut off all access roads to Ein-Yabroud, using the bulldozers to build up 6ft high mounds of earth across the tarmac. The lawyer, Haithim al-Sheik, ready for work in suit and tie, sympathised with Mr Aziz and complained about how it was impossible for a Palestinian to lead a normal life. They did not know how many days they would be cut off. The West Bank and Gaza are supposed to be run by the Palestinian Authority, a step on the way eventually to complete independence.
Any time spent on either the West Bank or Gaza shows it is as stark as that.
Gaza is totally cut off. As in the film Escape from New York, all the ways in and out are sealed and those inside are left to make do as best they can in a community isolated from the rest of the world. The West Bank, with its long borders, is harder to block off totally. Every day the Israelis make new enemies. They often behave badly out of fear, knowing that a bullet or a rock may not be far away.