Contents

• Aims of the Uprising
• The Nature of the Uprising
• Mass Protest
• Popular Committees
• Strikes
• Disengagement from Israeli Society
• Tax Revolt
• Economic Boycott & the Creation of a Home-based Economy
• Resignations: The Withdrawal of Labour
• Collaborators
• Palestinian Diplomatic Initiatives
• Recent Developments in the Intifada

• Effects on Israeli Society
• Trends in Controlling the Intifada
• The Use of Force
• Lowering the Profile & the Use of Undercover Squads
• Arrests and Administrative Detention
• Deportation
• Collective Punishments
• Curfew
• House Demolition and Sealing
• Sanctions Against Education
• Economic Sanctions
• Taxes
• Agricultural Siege
• Denying Employment
• Since the Gulf War: Reassertion of Control
• War Measures
• Pass-System
• Confidence-building or Pacification?
• Land Confiscation & Settlement Activity

• Historical Background
• Effects of the Intifada
• Past Peace Initiatives
• Mubarak's Proposal - January 1988
• The Shultz Plan
• Jordanian Developments
• US-PLO Dialogue
• Shamir's Peace Plan
• Arab Responses to the Shamir Plan
• Baker's First Peace Initiative
• Collapse of Diplomatic Efforts
• The Gulf Crisis
• Baker's Second Peace Proposal
• The Madrid Peace Conference

• Appendix A: Haider 'Abdul Shafi's Speech to the Bilateral meeting in Madrid
• Appendix B: Chronology of key dates of the Uprising

On 9 December 1991, the Palestinian uprising will have endured for 48 months or 1,461 days, putting the claims of former Israeli Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin that the trouble would `all be over by Christmas [1987]' into perspective. Contrary to the expectations of many, the Intifada has sustained itself for four years in spite of overwhelming odds, and has contributed considerably to the recent political developments.

The aim of this document is to provide an overview of the activities, and an analysis of the developments, of the Intifada from the first protests, to the participation of the first group of Palestinian delegates drawn from the occupied territories at the Madrid peace conference. It does not seek to cover the whole range of anti-occupation activity in its minutae, nor to produce a comprehensive record of the abuses of Palestinian human rights. At best, it will offer a summary of the major elements and an analysis of the significant trends in order to contribute to a better understanding of its nature and its results.

The document will examine the four years in two distinct phases: the first two and a half years form December 1987 to August 1990 and the last year and a half which has been inevitably affected by the Gulf crisis and war. Particular attention will be given to the developments of the past year. In addition, the document will consider three separate arenas of activity: Palestinian, Israeli and international. An essay by Palestinian delegate, Ghassan al-Khatib, examines the way in which the intifada has contributed to the convening of the peace conference. A wide variety of sources, Palestinian, Israeli and international, have been used as well as JMCC's own data base and field work. All sources are acknowledged in footnotes.

As the intifada enters its fifth year several trends can be identified in the nature of Palestinian protest activity and Israeli methods of control over the occupied territories.

The trend away from constant high levels of mass mobilization has continued, although the Palestinian population has shown itself to be willing and able to take to the streets in response to particular incidents, and recently demonstrated in large numbers in favor of peace. The move towards individual acts of protest, often involving the use of force, has continued, with levels of activity generally rising in direct correlation to the use of violence against Palestinians.

The Israeli army has developed a policy of lowering the level of its military presence and activity against the Palestinian population, relying increasingly on undercover operations and the work of Palestinian collaborators to eliminate individual activists. Collective punishment, like restrictions on movement and employment, and other methods of bureaucratic control have increased, with the formalization of the pass-system in the Spring of 1991. This restricts the supply of Palestinian labour within Israel and cuts off different segments of the occupied territories from one another, denying access in particular to the cultural and commercial centre of Palestinian life, East Jerusalem. Whilst this move towards the wholesale segregation of Palestinians form Israelis has continued, there have been recent attempts to remove some of the innumerable economic sanctions, particularly in Gaza, which restrict Palestinian industrial development. However, the degree of economic pressure imposed on Palestinian agriculture continues unabated. There has been a marked increase in the rate of land seizure and tree uprooting, coupled with the unprecedented intensity of Israel's settlement drive; it should be noted that all three phenomena have coincided precisely with the US-led peace initiative in the Middle East.