ABSTRACT
Israeli military authorities responded to the tax strike by placing Beit Sahour under curfew for 42 days, blocking food shipments to the village, and restricting access to the village by journalists and foreign diplomats. They also engaged in house-by-house raids, seizing property and money belonging to approximately 350 families, and imprisoning 40 residents. Despite these responses, villagers remained committed to the strike for six weeks, drawing international attention both to Palestinian grievances and to civil-based resistance during the first intifada. The tax strike at Beit Sahour was not the first episode of civil resistance or boycott in Palestinian history, however. Palestinians have utilized unarmed tactics since the beginning of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, developing a tradition of civilbased resistance.
