ABSTRACT
The organization that called on West Bankers to strike in protest was a hitherto unknown group with the ominous name of Islamic Jihad. The leaflets asking people to protest on that day were issued the day before and distributed throughout the West Bank. For, according to them, most of the Islamic movements in the West Bank advocated precautionary measures. The Israeli patrols that roam villages and towns at night had obviously failed to stop Islamic Jihad from reinforcing its original demand. The number of Israeli patrols had noticeably increased, and the soldiers in the jeeps and four-ton lorries were a little more alert, if not exactly agitated, than usual. A car with Israeli licence plates was always game, but a strike spelled open season. Islamic Jihad has since carried out a number of armed attacks, including a suicide mission against Israeli soldiers and nobody questions its right to call protest strikes.
