Date: 8 December 1987

What happened? An Israeli army vehicle crashed into a lorry in Gaza.

Result: Four Palestinians dead.

Rumors: Was it deliberate revenge for an Israeli death two days earlier?

Reaction: Large funerals became massive demonstrations. Tensions rose as a Palestinian youth got shot by an Israeli soldier.

Uprising in Gaza & West Bank.

Barricades made of tyres and corrugated iron.

Palestinians threw stones at Israeli army patrols from behind barricades.

Intifada = Uprising. But why did it start?

Post Six-Day War (1967)

• Israeli troops in Gaza & West Bank.

• Why? For some Israelis: Security (West Bank protects Israel’s “waist”).

• Aim: To secure control over all of Palestine.

Israel’s Stance

• Didn’t annex: Gaza & West Bank not part of Israel.

• New Name: 'occupied territories’.

• Who’s in charge? Israeli army (Military Rule).

Occupation Effects

• Resistance met with brute force. This includes

  • Protests

  • Strikes

  • Simply waving the Palestinian flag 🇵🇸.

• PLO suspects jailed without trial.

• Some tortured. Hundreds deported (often to Jordan).

• Houses blown up = Homeless families.

Land Confiscation

• Land taken and named “Jewish property”.

• Reasons? Security and Jewish settlements.

• Israelis got 💰 incentives to move to these settlements.

Checkpoints

• Israeli army built roads, linked towns/settlements.

• Military camps & checkpoints established.

• Palestinian movement heavily monitored. 🚫 Frequent stops at roadblocks.

Religious Significance

• West Bank = Judea and Samaria in ancient Israel. 📜

• Jewish settlers' belief: Land promised by God.

• Aim? Colonize so it couldn’t return to Palestinians.

A Growing Presence

• Jewish settlements built on Palestinian viewed land.

• By 1987: 80,000+ Israelis in settlements around Jerusalem. 20,000 more in the West Bank & Gaza.