Israel cracked down on Palestinian communities and individuals when terrorist attacks occurred, injuring Israeli citizens. Confiscation of lands and territory occurred, but generally with rule of law applying. There were instances where the Israeli security forces mistreated Palestinian detainees, including torture and death under mysterious circumstances while in custody. While these incidents are important and should not be made light of, the actions are well within the norm of other countries, especially within the region.
During the 1980s, Syrian President Hafez al-Assad basically eliminated his opposition by wiping out an entire city. This city, Hama, was home to the Muslim Brotherhood, a group that sought to limit the Westernization of Islamic culture and maintain traditional values. The Brotherhood became increasingly vocal during the 1980s and it came to a head when Assad called on the military to capture several leaders living in Hama. Word spread quickly and soon armed insurrection began with the Brotherhood fighting off the Syrian intelligence troops sent in initially. As the fighting intensified, Assad called in the regular military and systematically pulverized the town into non-existence. He wiped out his entire opposition in one fell swoop killing an estimated 25,000-50,000 in the process and detaining and imprisoning thousands more. Syria doesn't like this incident coming to light and many compare it to the American Civil War.
Assad played by the rules of the region which basically state that an individual who rules a country does so completely and without any compunction to use violence to achieve total control over their domain. This lesson is also seen in the actions of Saddam Hussein in his treatment of the Kurds in Northern Iraq during the 1980s and following the Gulf War.
Saddam Hussein has been after the Kurds for a long time since they oppose his regime and have sought to create an independent country in Northern Iraq, plus seem to have the backing of Iraq's rival Iran. To Hussein, this was completely unacceptable, given that his government controlled all of Iraq and to give up any part would be a sign of weakness to external enemies; especially Iran. Therefore, Hussein ordered the campaign to eliminate all Kurdish resistance to his regime, essentially giving carte blanche to his military to commit acts of genocide against the Kurdish people. This included the use of chemical weapons against the Kurdish population and is estimated to have killed tens of thousands people as a result.
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