First Intifada
With major political and military setbacks in the 1970s and 1980s that sent the Palestinian political leadership into exile in Jordan, Lebanon, then Tunisia, popular support for the resistance movement waned until the spontaneous outbreak of the Intifada in December 1987.
From a legal perspective, the two Palestinian Intifadas (the second broke out in September 2000) differ from the Arab-Israeli wars in that the law defines the Wars of 1948, 1956, 1967 1973, and 1982 as international in character, that is, they are conflicts conducted between states. The conflict between the Palestinians and Israeli occupying forces is of a non-international character, but invokes the laws of occupation, including the right of a people to resist a belligerent occupation. Many of the primary contentions over issues of sovereignty and self-determination that initially led to war in 1948 remain unresolved.On December 8, 1987, an Israeli army vehicle crashed into a truck carrying Palestinian workers in the Gaza Strip, causing the death of four passengers. The incident sparked protests in the West Bank and Gaza Strip that escalated into a popular uprising that involved massive demonstrations, economic boycotts, tax resistance, and strikes. These efforts were aimed at ending the military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and achieving national independence for Palestinians.
The Intifada was not headed by the established Palestinian leadership, but by a new generation who had been born and raised under Israeli occupation. These new groups took command of the local resistance. During this period, the PLO’s political leadership came under threat from rival groups that often stressed Islam, such as the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Islamic Jihad.
As the violence escalated, the United Nations followed the situation closely, primarily through the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories. The United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People submitted reports on the measures used by the Israeli armed forces to end protests, such as the use of live ammunition against demonstrators and punitive beatings.
Israel also resorted to various forms of collective punishment, such as the demolition of houses, the imposition of prolonged curfews, and restrictive economic measures. These policies intensified the already difficult living conditions inside the Occupied Territories.The Israeli government then approved a plan to build a tunnel adjacent to the Haram al-Sharif the most holy Muslim site in Jerusalem. Fighting then spread throughout the Occupied Territories and Israel declared a state of emergency. Around this time, King Hussein ofJordan relinquished Jordanian responsibility for the West Bank, enabling the PLO to declare the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in November 1988.
The human, social, and economic costs of the Inti∣ada were high. In the first two years of fighting, approximately 50,000 Palestinians were arrested (about half of whom were under the age of eighteen), 7,000 were wounded, and 500 were killed. For Israel, the political fallout was significant as images of the IDF’s often aggressive responses to Palestinian protests were broadcast across Israel and around the world. The Intifada S most salient images were of Arab children throwing stones at Israeli tanks and soldiers. After the Oslo Accords, the Inti∣ada waned as Palestinians began to build hope for a better future.
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