First Intifada

The Palestinian uprising (intifada is Arabic for shaking off) against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip that erupted in December 1987 and included many forms of civil disobedience, such as massive demonstrations, general strikes, barricades, refusal to pay taxes, boycotts of Israeli products, graffiti, and underground ‘‘freedom schools.’’ By the time the First Intifada ended (in September 1993, with the signing of the first Oslo Accord), about 1,500 Palestinians had been killed across the country by Israeli soldiers and civilians (including East Jerusalem), tens of thousands had been injured, and 175,000 imprisoned. During this period, Israel had the highest per capita prison population in the world.