The Intifada

Before the intifada began, Joost Hiltermann had already looked at local organizations in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip and seen there the main elements that would eventually be used to mobilize the Palestinian masses. In the first comprehensive study of these organizations, Hiltermann shows how local organizers provided basic services unavailable under military rule, while recruiting for the cause of Palestinian nationalism.

This collection of critical essays includes eyewitness accounts from the West Bank and Gaza, discussions of Palenstinian society and politics, and analyses of the role of the United States in the Middle East and Palestine.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the uprising in the Territories of the Israel and the Palestinians and to assess its ramifications for the future. The study examines an alternative to the use of military force by Israel—by opening of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

The theme is the struggle for Palestinian national liberation from `colonial' rule, of which the uprising since December 1987 is seen as the latest and most powerful phase. Most of the contributors are professionals in the occupied territories (in sociology, economics, political science, public health, etc.), and they write as scholars and firsthand observers as well as supporters of the intifada. There is much interesting material on the respective roles of villagers, urban workers, the merchant class and Palestinian women, as well as on the competing secular and Islamic wings of the nationalist movement. Foreign Affairs An unusually well-informed collection of 19 essays on the Palestinian uprising, or intifada, which has been underway since December 1987. The contributors know their subject and in composite they provide a clear, pithy (and sympathetic) picture of the economic, political, and social underpinnings of the uprising. Although the perspective is generally inside looking outward, there are several good chapters on the international aspects of the intifada. . . . Highly recommended for academic libraries. Choice This edited volume presents a historical background of the occupation and its nature and ramifications to Palestinian nationalism. Its coverage also embraces the catalysts for and the revolutionary transformation of the Palestinian uprising and it includes an interim assessment of the achievements and failures of the Intifada. By relying on first-hand original Arabic and Hebrew sources, the book provides a comprehensive survey and analysis of the Palestinian uprising. Intifada's perspective is unique in that many of its contributors have been actual participants in the uprising as well as its professional observers. Part I presents the setting and conditions that gave rise to the uprising, with an analysis of the nature of the occupation, a presentation of the colonial economic policies imposed by the Israelis and the development of the Palestinian political consciousness, and an analysis of the infrastructure of the resistance. Part II looks at the participants of the uprising from several different perspectives: refugee camps, villages, the role of women, the working class, petite bourgeoisie, religion, revolution, and the PLO. Part III examines the Intifada's implications on the Arab world, the United States, and the European community. Part IV examines the impact on the protagonists, Israel and the Palestinians. The conclusion takes a look at prospects for the future. This book should appeal to students and scholars of Middle East/Israeli-Arab relations.

As the Palestinian/Israeli conflict continues to be of major importance in the Middle East, this book employs a new agency approach to understanding the conflict, examining the unprecedented challenge mounted by Palestinian insurgents to Israeli military rule in the West Bank and Gaza between 1987 and 1992. In particular the book discusses how the Palestinians learned about their occupier and how knowledge of Israeli political divisions were used, as well as exploring the various ways in which oppression led to shared grievances and discontent, and the development of organizations to maintain the Intifada. It has received an award by the Israeli Political Science Association for the best book on Israeli politics in English.

Beyond the affluent centre of Paris and other French cities, in the deprived banlieues, a war is going on. This is the French Intifada, a guerrilla war between the French state and the former subjects of its Empire, for whom the mantra of 'liberty, equality, fraternity' conceals a bitter history of domination, oppression, and brutality. This war began in the early 1800s, with Napoleon's lust for martial adventure, strategic power and imperial preeminence, and led to the armed colonization of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, and decades of bloody conflict, all in the name of 'civilization'. Here, against the backdrop of the Arab Spring, Andrew Hussey walks the front lines of this war - from the Gare du Nord in Paris to the souks of Marrakesh and the mosques of Tangier - to tell the strange and complex story of the relationship between secular, republican France and the Muslim world of North Africa. The result is a completely new portrait of an old nation. Combining a fascinating and compulsively readable mix of history, politics and literature with Hussey's years of personal experience travelling across the Arab World, The French Intifada reveals the role played by the countries of the Maghreb in shaping French history, and explores the challenge being mounted by today's dispossessed heirs to the colonial project: a challenge that is angrily and violently staking a claim on France's future.

Often, violent behavior or harassment from a soldier is dismissed by the military as unacceptable acts by individuals termed, “rotten apples.” In this study, the author argues that this dismissal is unsatisfactory and that there is an urgent need to look at the (mis)behavior of soldiers from a structural point of view. When soldiers serve as an occupational force, they find themselves in a particular situation influenced by structural circumstances that heavily influence their behavior and moral decision-making. This study focuses on young Israeli men and their experiences as combat soldiers in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), particularly those who served in the “Occupied Palestinian Territories” (OPT) during the “Al Aqsa Intifada,” which broke out in 2000. In describing the soldiers’ circumstances, especially focusing on space, the study shows how processes of numbing on different levels influence the (moral) behavior of these soldiers.

Palestinian civilians engaged in numerous acts of unarmed resistance during the second intifada. However, these attempts in using non-violent strategies were frequently overshadowed by the armed tactics of militant groups. Drawing from extensive interviews, surveys, and observations in the West Bank, this book provides an in-depth study of the often-overlooked aspects of popular resistance in Palestine. The book demonstrates how such unarmed tactics have considerable support amongst the local population particularly when they are framed as a strategy rather than just as a moral preference. However, whilst recognizing the successes of many civil-based initiatives, the author examines why a unified popular movement never fully emerged. She argues that obstacles extended beyond occupation policies to include political constraints from the Palestinian Authority, and agenda-setting efforts from sectors of the international community. Nevertheless, many activists continue to work creatively through diverse channels and networks to broaden the space for civil resistance. Combining critical analysis with activist narratives and community case studies, the book provides a comprehensive and compelling look at non-violent activism in the second intifada, offering a fresh perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and illustrating both the challenges and opportunities in mobilizing for popular struggle.