Structured Response 10/25

               The Palestinian Intifada, occurring in the late 1980s to early 1990s, was a widespread movement of rebellion against Israeli occupation by the Palestinian people.  Although public reactions to occupation had occurred since its beginning, this time period marks the years when the protests were the most widespread and best organized.  The protests were generally non-violent, and were caused by the severe conditions the Palestinians were living in.  Because the Israelis had driven the Palestinian people into pockets in the West Bank where conditions were much less than optimal, they certainly felt as though they had the right to fight back.  Unfortunately, the Intifada did not gain independence or better conditions for the Palestinian people.  It did however leave other lasting effects.

                The Intifada did achieve an increase in international attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  This was important to the Palestinians, many of whom believed that the injustices put upon them would be condemned by the international community.  The United States did become more involved because of the Intifada, organizing peace talks between the clashing peoples.  Large impacts were experienced by both the Israelis and the Palestinians.  Israel reacted to the protests by tightening their grip on the occupied territories, including restricting freedoms to the Palestinian people and utilizing collective punishment to deter rebellious action.  The Palestinians on the other hand became more unified against the increasing control of Israel.  The Intifada also resulted in a rift among the Israeli people between those who wanted to end the occupation and those wanting to increase control against the rebellious groups.  Although agreements were made between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples, the Intifada resulted in a more severely divided conflict in the West Bank.