Conflict in the Modern Era

 As we start to look at Jerusalem in the modern era, one event that was talked about in class that stood out was the first Intifada. The first Intifada was a series of protests and riots done by the Palestians against Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza (Brym). It lasted from December 1987 to 1993, where it ended with the singing of the Oslo Accords. The first Intifada was a culmination of all the pent up rage the Palestians had been building against Israel since the six day war. After Israel won the six day war they gained control of Jerusalem, West Bank and the Gaza Strip and started treating the Palestinians there like second class citizens. By the start of the first Intifada the Palestians were tired of this treatment. Then in december of 1987, a Israeli Defense Force (IDF) truck collided with a Palestian civilian car which resulted in the death of 4 Palestinians (Brym). The Palestians felt these deaths were deliberately caused by the IDF, which the IDF denied. The Palestinians responded with protests which sometimes grew violent with stones and molotov cocktails being thrown, officially starting the first Intifada.

The IDF responded by sending 80,000 soldiers down the area armed with live rounds. Many in the international community viewed this response as over the top. The Israel Government defended themselves and said that it was the only way to quell the riots (Brym). The Intifada had gained international eyes and many were accusing Israel of how they were handling the situation, especially after pictures of IDF soldiers beating Palestian kids with clubs emerged. Over 300 hundred Palestians were killed before international criticism stopped the use of Israeli live rounds. Even after the adoption of rubber bullets by the end of the Intifada over 1,000 Palestinians were killed and over 100 Israelis were as well. There was also much Palestian on Palestian killing as Palestian uprisers would kill any Palestenians they thought were working with Israel. The Intifada had very big effects that were seen after its end (Brym). The Intifada did not end until the Oslo Accords in 1993. The Oslo Accords was a peace agreement signed by both the Israel government and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) (Ochsenwald). It created a Palestinian intern self-government, the Palestinian National Authority, and called for the IDF to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and the West bank (Ochsenwald).

Citiations:

Araj, Bader and Brym, Robert J.. "intifada". Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 May. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/topic/intifadah. Accessed 10 April 2022.

Ochsenwald, William L. , Sicherman, Harvey , Stone, Russell A. and Elath, Eliahu. "Israel". Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Apr. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/place/Israel. Accessed 10 April 2022.