Israel-Palestine clashes: What is an intifada?

The violent conflict between Israel and Hamas that has lasted over the past 40 days has led to severe destruction, several deaths, and unrest in the region. As of Thursday, Israel is amassing troops in the Gaza border as Hamas steps up its attacks and calls for another intifada.

What is an intifada?

An intifada is a rebellion or an uprising. In contemporary Arabic use, an intifada is a legitimate form of resisting oppression.

The first intifada was a series of long-running Palestinian uprisings against Israel which took place over the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and inside Israel itself. During this, Palestinians protested against Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza which began after the 6-day war in 1967.

The Six-day war was a short conflict in the Middle East, involving Israel, Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, which resulted in Israel occupying the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), and the Golan Heights.

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The first intifada started in December of 1987 at the Jabalia refugee camp, after four Palestinian workers were killed when an Israeli Defense Forces tank collided with their car.

During the first 31 months of the intifada, Israeli security forces killed over 670 Palestinians and injured many thousands more. Israeli authorities laid the blame for these casualties on the Palestinians, arguing that their violent resistance to Israeli troops necessitated a forceful response to restore and maintain order.

Officials claimed that, with few exceptions, soldiers responded to constant dangers and provocations with great restraint and with no more force than appropriate. Overall, well over 1,500 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces during the intifada.

On the other hand, over 300 Israelis were killed by Palestinians during the conflict, of which 94 were in the Occupied Territories.

The intifada lasted till the Oslo Accords were signed in 1993.

The second intifada

The second intifada, also called the Al-Aqsa intifada, was triggered in 2000 and went on till 2005.

Prior to the second intifada, Israel had committed to a phased withdrawal of its forces from parts of the Gaza Strip and West Bank, and affirmed the Palestinian right to self-government within those areas through the creation of a Palestinian Authority, as part of the Oslo Accords.

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On the other hand, the Palestine Liberation Organization recognised Israel and committed to adopting responsibility for internal security in population centres in the areas that were evacuated.

The trigger for the Al-Aqsa intifada was a visit by former Israeli PM Ariel Sharon to the Al-Aqsa mosque. The visit happened after the failed Camp David Summit, which had aimed to reach an agreement on the Israel-Palestine peace process.

The bitter conflict, which lasted over four years, claimed over 1,100 Israeli lives and over 3,000 Palestinian lives. This conflict saw a significant number of non-combatants killed sides, with estimates of 770 Israeli civilians killed by Palestinians. Another 55 foreign citizens were killed in the conflict.

A source who didn't want to be identified had this to say about life after the second intifada: "I was about 13 years old. There were more Israeli checkpoints between towns in the West Bank. Going to school was difficult and a long process. My school bus used to be stopped everyday and checked by police and soldiers. Even near my school, there were many soldiers who used to stop students who were carrying big bags.

They stopped me once and took to a checkpost, my father came there and took me home after a few hours. That is the memory I have of that time, our movement was less and near my house, there were new Jewish people who came from Israel. They had big walls, gates and fences. Even if I lost my football near the gate i could not go because security men will shoot me."

With the situation in the region destabilising every day, it is not impossible that a third intifada may begin.