On the 7th of October 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to, “cripple Hamas mercilessly and avenge this black day they have brought upon Israel” in response to the barbarous attacks carried out by the terrorist group against innocent Israeli citizens. But this isn’t just a modern-day issue; the conflict between Hamas and Israel has been playing out for almost half a century, dating back to the ‘First Intifada’ in 1987. The first major uprising of the Palestinian people against Israeli rule in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, this conflict continues to affect Middle-Eastern politics to this day.
Ever since the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, there has been a never-ending series of conflicts between the Arab states and the new Israeli state. The First Arab-Israeli War (1948-1949, Israeli victory), the Six-Day War (1967, Israeli victory), and the Yom Kippur War (1973, Israeli victory) all created massive administrative issues with territory changing hands constantly. As a result of these conflicts, the Arabs living in newly occupied Israeli territory were homeless; some had decided to leave during the war while some stayed during the wars and were evicted from their homes. Not only were many left without a home, but those who stayed faced huge economic hardships compared to the rest of the State of Israel. Poverty and high unemployment plagued the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in the 1950s and 60s, and with peace negotiations failing between the two sides, a more proactive form of resistance was required. The Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) was formed in 1964 to unite all factions of the Palestinian movements to eliminate the State of Israel and reclaim all the former Mandatory Palestine, which existed as a British colony between the years 1920-1948. Tensions built up for years and years until a traffic accident, which included an Israeli truck, killing 4 Palestinian labourers, and on the 9th of December 1987 the First Intifada began.
Much of the early uprisings by Palestinian civilians were characterised by low-scale protests, refusal to pay taxes, worker strikes, boycotts of Israeli businesses, etc. The development of the uprising into a violent fight against Israeli occupation was really a snowball effect with both sides ramping up their efforts to hinder the other side’s chances of success. The Palestinians began to use Molotov cocktails against the Israeli Defence Force (IDF). In return, the IDF began to use live ammunition against the protestors, which as a consequence caused the Palestinians to become even more violent and disruptive. The Palestinians were never going to win a one-on-one battle with the IDF as they had fewer men, resources and land. Due to their superiority in every context, the IDF decided to enact a form of collective punishment onto the Palestinians, including the demolition of houses, in the hope that it would cause the PLO to halt their disruptive actions. While the actions of the IDF may have seriously hindered the potential of the PLO to cause major damage to the State of Israel, the long-term consequences were an enraged Palestinian population less likely to compromise on peace arrangements and an increased diplomatic pressure exerted on Israel by its allies. Excessive media coverage meant that global audiences could witness these events firsthand, and in turn split the opinions of the world into those who supported the Israelis and those who supported the Palestinian plight.
Although these clashes had a major impact on the lives of both Israelis and Palestinians at the time, the bigger implications of the First Intifada were the long-term consequences. Since the PLO now knew that they could make a big disruption and gain an international audience through their violent tactics, this strategy was reused again in future confrontations. Understandably, the more violent one side becomes; the more violent the other side becomes to retaliate. It was for this reason, among others, that the First Intifada caused the world to step up their attempts to stop the conflict and save innocent civilians from being harmed. The first major attempt at peace was the Oslo Accords in 1993 mediated by Norway to create a pathway towards peace in the region. At the time, many viewed the accords as a success. The PLO was recognised as the representatives of the Palestinian people, the Palestinians were given a right to self-determination, and the Palestinians were given self-control over the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Unfortunately, these successes were short lived as violence continued across Palestinian lands, orchestrated mainly by the more extreme movements of the Palestinian cause, namely Hamas. What the Oslo Accords managed to show the world was that there is a pathway towards peace in the Middle East if all sides agree; the only problem is that no major peace deal has been accepted by the Israelis and the Palestinians since.
In conclusion, the First Intifada kicked off a violent uprising amongst the Palestinians living under Israeli occupation which had been simmering for decades up to 1987 and of which the consequences are still being felt today. Although attempts have been made to create lasting peace in the region, what events like the massacre of innocent Israeli citizens on the 7th of October 2023 show is that there is still a long way to go before both sides can fully trust each other to create peace once and for all.
By Liam Jackson