Collective punishment includes policies and practices which punish groups of people indiscriminately as a method of collective repression.
The Israelis have placed the Palestinian villages under a curfew for 19 to 24 days, during which they were deprived of foodstuffs and medicines. The electricity supply and phones were cut off, houses were demolished and the inhabitants were prevented from engaging in agricultural work. Markets, shops and businesses were forced to close in reprisal for the national strikes or protest that had been ordered by the Palestinian leadership. The supply of foodstuffs between towns and villages was interrupted.