There are a few causes behind the Intifada

There are a few causes behind the Intifada. In 1985, the Israeli parliament passed a bill banning any anti-Zionist political party. The Israelis feared a party that could endanger state security, and consequently left Palestinians without a voice in politics (Palestine 1). By this time, a whole generation had grown up under Israeli occupation. Their economic status was low, their civil rights diminished, and their political status was uncertain (Palestine 2). The Palestinian Liberation Organization had not been successful with diplomatic or military efforts to win a state for them, violence was mounting, and no other country seemed willing to help them attain independence (History of Palestine 2). An increase in Palestinian unemployment was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The Palestinian youth began demonstrating to support their own nationhood (History of Palestine 2). Boycotts of Israeli goods soon followed (History of Palestine 2). Thus, the Intifada was born.

In Arabic, intifada means "uprising" or "shaking off" (History of Palestine 2). Palestinians wanted to shake off their oppressor and win a state for themselves led by the PLO. The Britannica says that this began on December 8, 1985, twenty years after Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (2). Civilians, including women and children, threw rocks at Israeli soldiers in addition to attacks on civilians (Still Uprising 1). Stones and the occasional Molotov cocktail were the only weapons used in the fight. Stones became the norm and the metaphor for the Intifada (Stones to Statehood 101). In the beginning, there was not a central leader or group that coordinated the Intifada. It was a secular nationalist movement that eventually came to be led by the United National Command of the Uprising. Subsequently, a group of Sunnite Muslims called the Hamas "sought to take over the leadership of the Intifada" (History of Palestine 2). This group is an "armed underground wing" affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood who rejects any type of compromise with Israel (History of Palestine 2). It became an "all encompassing, intense, and persistent" cry for equality and land, representing the "most sustained and organized form of opposition to Israel’s occupation of the west Bank and Gaza for the last two decades" (Two Years of the Intifada 1). This insurrection lasted for about five years.

Prior, Israel’s Jewish public had repressed the Palestinian issue entirely. Both pretended the other group did not exist. Israel’s leaders had deceived its people by arguing that the PLO forced itself on the Palestinians, the occupation could remain indefinitely, and that Israel could control them without the threat of revolt. Israel also said that only their people wanted peace (Intifada 289). Israel reacted to the Palestinian uprising by closing universities, arresting demonstrators, deporting demonstrators, and armed suppression (History of Palestine 2). Their suppression included "rigorous tactics . . . whose severity was condemned not only by Palestinians but by many Israelis as well" (Israel 2). One article, entitled "Two Years of the Intifada," says "the Intifada, and the Israeli response to it, have ushered in a new phase of officially sanctioned systematic violence in the occupied territories. For the first time, the conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis has crystallized into a confrontation in its own right, overshadowing the familiar regional conflict between Israel and the neighboring Arab states" (2). There was also widespread belief at the time that only the weight of public opinion can prevent the Israeli army from annihilating the uprising through military assault and mass expulsions (Stones to Statehood 102). The Israeli army had the might of American weaponry whereas Palestinians mainly used stones. The world would not have allowed Israel to completely destroy the uprising, which forced them to recognize Palestine and set about drafting a solution.
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