When Palestinians throw rocks at cars, they’re terrorists. When Israelis do it, they’re rioters. The difference is that terrorists are responded to with machine gun fire and rioters are not.
Terrorism scares, and is used to justify mass surveillance, exceptions in the law to give people suspected of it less rights than people suspected other serious crimes. The terrorist label is somewhat arbitrary, often deserved, sometimes abused to go after environmental activists.
In a more perfect system, the label would have a narrow and explicit definition. Or even be removed from laws, so all serious crimes suspects get the same treatment and fundamental rights, until proven guilty.
I’m pretty sure I’ve seen this before; not the first time foreign diplomats/politicians get oppresively pressured or attacked.
