The First Palestinian Intifada
Written by Stephanie B. and Diala B.
In the ten years leading up to the First Intifada, or First “Uprising,” the far-right Likud party was gaining power in the settler colony of “Israel.” These extremists aggressively advanced indigenous land theft and the creation of illegal settlements on Palestinian land. After decades of violent colonization, the sentiment of resistance against the fascist occupiers gained traction amongst the Palestinian people.
The spark that ignited the First Intifada in Gaza came from a deadly act of terror on December 8th, 1987. A Zionist settler deliberately drove his truck into parked civilian vehicles, killing four Palestinians, three of them from Jabalia, a refugee camp in Gaza. This tragic event became a catalyst for the uprising. During this time, Palestinians, especially in Gaza, suffered from low wages and harsh and worsening working conditions. Even while being separated by checkpoints between Gaza, the West Bank, and the occupied territories of 1948, Palestinians united in their resistance. The use of rocks against an organized fascist military highlighted the unequal power dynamic of the colonizer versus a colonized people. Palestinians in the First Intifada were primarily made up of unarmed civilians whose only available means of resistance were rocks against an armed colonizer. The throwing of stones marked a symbolic act that represented the most valuable tool under colonization that Indigenous people have: Their unyielding desire for liberation.
The Intifada’s strength lay in its ability to engage the entire population in resistance efforts. Palestinians of all ages and backgrounds mobilized to challenge the occupation. Mass strikes, boycotts, and demonstrations became routine forms of civil disobedience, disrupting the economic infrastructure of “Israel” in a way that was both symbolic and material. Strikes in the occupied territories paralyzed industries that relied heavily on Palestinian labor, while boycotts of “Israeli” goods exacerbated the effects on the economy. At its heart, the Intifada was a people-driven movement.
Militarily, the uprising exposed the vulnerabilities of the Zionist forces. Although the Intifada was largely unarmed, the scale and persistence of resistance overwhelmed the occupation’s military apparatus. The daily protests, roadblocks, and mass participation forced Zionist forces into a constant state of stress. The movement eroded the perception of “Israeli” control, brought the realities of occupation into international focus, and reshaped the dynamics of the Palestinian struggle. The Intifada needed to happen as the disparity between Palestinians and the settler colony's growing control over every aspect of life had become unbearable.
The Intifada also challenged the existing Palestinian leadership. While the PLO maintained its international role as the primary representative of Palestinians, local leaders in the territories gained prominence, reflecting a shift toward grassroots-driven resistance.
The “Israeli” military under Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin adopted an “Iron Fist” policy during the First Intifada, intensifying its efforts to crush Palestinian resistance through brutal and repressive measures. This strategy included mass deportations and a sweeping campaign of arrests aimed at silencing dissent and dismantling the uprising’s grassroots leadership. Over 600,000 Palestinians were imprisoned during this period in what amounted to systematic mass kidnappings. Many were subjected to administrative detention without trial and intense torture, which in some cases led to death. These actions were designed to break the population's will and suppress the growing momentum of the uprising.
Amid this repression, the PLO sought to reassert its authority over the movement. With much of its leadership based abroad, the PLO began to engage in dialogue with the “Israeli” state under the guise of pursuing “peace” negotiations. This move was partly an attempt to regain influence within the territories, where local leadership and organizations like Hamas had begun challenging its dominance. However, many Palestinians viewed these negotiations with suspicion, as they increasingly aligned with the interests of the occupying power. The Oslo Accords, initiated through secret negotiations in 1993, became the most prominent outcome of these talks. These developments during the Intifada highlighted the deepening tension between grassroots resistance and institutional leadership. While the people on the ground endured violent repression and continued to fight for liberation, the PLO’s pursuit of a diplomatic solution undercut the revolutionary spirit of the movement, laying the groundwork for the challenges that would follow in the post-Oslo era.
