Intifada

Intifada انتفاضة (From Arabic انتفض: "agitate; transgress") is the popular name for rebellions by Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip against Israel. The objectives of these uprisings are subject to debate: while some sectors indicate that their objective is to liberate the Palestinian territories, other sectors believe that the underlying objective continues to be the destruction of Israel and with it its faith, given the Judeo-Islamic struggle. These uprisings are among the aspects that have most influenced the development of the Arab-Israeli conflict in recent decades.

Both intifadas began as Palestinian agitation campaigns, thus generating a cycle of inertial violence that was difficult to solve. In December 2017, the Hamas organization urged the Palestinians to start a Third Intifada, due to the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel for the United States.

First Intifada

The First Intifada began in 1987 with the famous "War of the Stones". The televised images showed street battles between Palestinians and members of the Israel Defense Forces, in which the Palestinians attacked the Israeli army with stones and other objects, and it responded with firearms, hence the name "War of the stones" or "Rocks against bullets"; the violence subsided in 1991 and came to a more complete end (although not totally abated) with the signing of the Oslo Accords (September 13, 1993) and the creation of the Palestinian National Authority.

From December 9, 1987 to the date of the signing of the aforementioned Agreements, 3,162 Palestinians and 127 Israelis died as a result of the clashes of the First Intifada.

Second Intifada

The Second Intifada, which has come to be called the al-Aqsa Intifada, began in September 2000 in response to a visit by politician Ariel Sharon to the Jerusalem Mosques. This act was interpreted as a provocation by the Palestinians, who reacted by throwing stones at the Israeli forces. The crackdown resulted in 7 Palestinian deaths, thus sparking violent insurrections along the Green Line. It was officially ended on February 24, 2005. This second intifada left more than 5,000 Palestinians (mostly civilians) and more than 1,000 Israelis dead. Furthermore, Israel's victory meant the definitive isolation of the Gaza Strip.

Third Intifada

On Friday, December 8, 2017, Hamas leader Ismail Haniya called on the Palestinians to participate in a third Intifada through the so-called "Friday Rage," prompted by the decision of the President of the United States United States, Donald Trump, to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel. This decision was harshly criticized by all the Arab and Muslim governments, as well as by Western countries that share the idea that Jerusalem should be a capital shared by Israel and by a future State of Palestine. Various critics pointed out that this The Trump administration's move, far from encouraging dialogue between the parties, only managed to generate a new wave of violence and throw overboard all the efforts of previous US governments regarding the conflict in question. The protests were massive both in the West Bank and Gaza and in all Muslim countries. The Israel Defense Forces cracked down on protesters in Gaza and Ramallah. So far, at least 2 dead and more than 100 injured caused the riots in these.

Intifada of the Knives

Violent acts (demonstrations with the throwing of stones and small explosive objects, repression with tear gas and rubber bullets, murders or attempted murders of Israelis with firearms or bladed weapons, extrajudicial neutralization of the Palestinian aggressors using lethal force, shooting at Palestinian anti-settlement protesters, or using trucks or cars to run over and kill Israeli citizens, destruction of Palestinian houses and homes) between Palestinians and Israelis from September 2015 until the outbreak of protests from 2018 to 2019.