Intifada

From dKosopedia

Category: Islam

An Arabic word meaning "shaking off." It has come to refer almost exclusively to the Palestinian struggle against Israel in the Palestinian Territories. The first such Intifada began in December 1987 in Jabalia refugee camp after the death of a Palestinian child. It quickly spread and captivated the world with images of Palestinian children with stones facing down tanks. Then Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin attempted to control it with a now-infamous order to "break their bones." Though these images of soldiers fighting children dominated the coverage, it also included tax revolts, boycotts, and other forms of civil disobedience. It convinced Israel of the necessity to negotiate with the Palestine Liberation Organization for the first time. The Second Intifada began in 2000 when then opposition leader Ariel Sharon visited Haram al Sharif or Temple Mount with 1000 soldiers and the approval of then Prime Minister [Ehud Barak]], angering Palestinians already frustrated with the lack of results from the Oslo Accords. It is much more militarized than its predecessor and includes small arms, mortar fire, as well as the infamous suicide bombers. It is also more fragmented due to a less cohesive Palestinian society, and the Israeli system of checkpoints.