The men of Shechem betray Abimelech, and so Abimelech attacks and burns the city to the ground.  He does it by cutting a branch and carrying it to the inner chamber of the tower of Shechem.  The rest of his men do the same, and they set the branches on fire, which kills a thousand of the men of Shechem – a foretaste of Samson’s later victory over the Philistines (Judges 9:48-49).

A good passage for Palm Sunday meditation.