There are No Innocents: Beita 1988 and the Logic of Collective Punishment
From This Is Palestine by The Institute for Middle East Understanding
April 2, 2026 · 37 min · Episode 148
About this episode
This episode examines the 1988 Beita incident and the logic of collective punishment in the context of the first Intifada.
This episode examines the 1988 Beita incident, a few months following the outbreak of the first Intifada, when an entire Palestinian community was punished for a crime they did not commit. Through eyewitness accounts and historical context, we trace how home demolitions, mass arrests, and forced exile became tools of Israel’s collective punishment and how similar patterns continue to shape the present today. Thank you for tuning into This is Palestine, the official podcast of The IMEU! For more stories and resources, visit us at imeu.org. Stay connected with us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theimeu/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/theIMEU Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theIMEU/ For more insights, follow our host, Diana Buttu, on: Twitter: https://twitter.com/dianabuttu
People in this episode
Host: Diana Buttu
Topics covered
- collective punishment
- Palestinian history
- Intifada
- eyewitness accounts
- home demolitions
- mass arrests
Keywords
- Beita
- 1988
- collective punishment
- Intifada
- home demolitions
- mass arrests
- Palestinian community
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: The Institute for Middle East Understanding
Places: Beita, Israel
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