Palestinians may be poor in most of the world's goods but they are rich in stones. On the West Bank there are stones everywhere, in clumps, piles and great mounds. Under the broiling sun it must be a constant temptation to pick them up to throw at the nearest Israeli checkpoint.
In Ireland, if you are honest, you will admit that you think of passing schoolchildren only to avoid knocking them down with your car. On the West Bank and in Gaza it is different: these kids with their satchels and angelic faces are at the centre of events, forcing middle-aged and elderly statesmen to ponder, deliberate, scratch their bald heads and try once more to come up with an answer to the recurrent crisis that is the Middle East.
They are mature beyond their years. Visiting the holy sites of Jerusalem, for example, you are assailed by youngsters offering to guide you through the cobblestoned streets and alleyways to the mosque or the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It's all for the tip, of course, but it never seems to be enough, and the nine and 10-year-olds are highly assertive in demanding more.
The same spirit of assertiveness is seen in their David and Goliath confrontations with the Israeli security forces on the West Bank and in Gaza. They have fundamentally no chance against the soldiers' bullets, but still they keep attacking and coming back for more. "Send us more coffins" was the message from a Palestinian funeral yesterday.
Why do they do it, continuing to put their lives at risk in an unequal contest against a determined and better-armed opponent? The peace process was meant to appease the discontents among Palestinians but has only whetted their appetite for full and untrammelled statehood.
Too much contact with the Israeli forces seems to be a large part of the answer.
Every youngster burning for vengeance knows someone who was killed or injured, or arrested or subjected to some form of what governing authorities call "security measures" and the unwilling recipients see as harassment and oppression.
"No Fear" was the sticker on a van in Ramallah yesterday. In the centre of the town a poster showed two protesters, one in his 20s, the other a small boy, sheltering from gunfire.
The message was also a warning. It read: "The Palestinian story . . . to be continued."
With about 120 dead compared to eight Israelis, it certainly seems beyond dispute that these youths know no fear.
The Israeli response has been tough. "Stop messing with us," a senior officer warned last night.
Each rebellion has its own tactics. The Palestinians have chosen the Intifada, a physically doomed but symbolically effective revolt where young people throw themselves against a mighty military machine.
The cost has been huge in terms of young lives, and any gains will be bought dearly in blood. So far the outcome is undecided: Israel seems to be teetering between diplomatic response or an even more severe crackdown. The latter might work in the short term, but some Israeli politicians at least seem conscious of the propaganda setback it would entail.
The power that Israel wields could be seen in the ruins of the police station at Ramallah where a Palestinian mob captured two Israeli soldiers and subjected them to a horrible death.
US forces in the Gulf have been put on the highest alert in response to specific threats of terrorist attacks against American troops and citizens, US officials said last night.