The intifada was a sort of uprising or a continuous riot. From the arab point of view it was a success in that it separated the arabs of Israel from the Israelis and ensured the continuance of a conflict. But for the arabs of Israel in general it was a failure, as Israel's destruction would lead to their demise and economic collapse, since they depend upon Israel for all the necessities of life. But Israel behaved foolishly and walked into a trap. You see, Israel has come to depend upon the arabs as well, since the arabs of Israel perform many menial labor tasks. Israel could have isolated the arabs in their towns, it could have expelled the offenders and arrested their leaders, and kept the arabs away from their jobs and their source of support. What's more, the arabs could have been driven out of Israel, but instead Israel adopted a policy of appeasment; one modeled after the American policy towards its disobedient minority citizens. Rather than suppress the arab rebelliousnous by responding harshly and thus driving the arabs out of Israel, the Israeli government appeased the dissidents thus encouraging their rebelliousness; as if the arabs were such an important asset to Israel. This policy would later lead to the "oslo process" of defeat for Israel.

The intifada by Mitchell Bard False charges of Israeli atrocities and instigation from the mosques played an important role in starting the intifada. On December 6, 1987, an Israeli was stabbed to death while shopping in gaza. One day later, four residents of the jabalya refugee camp in gaza were killed in a traffic accident. Rumors that the four had been killed by Israelis as a deliberate act of revenge began to spread among the arabs. Mass rioting broke out in jabalya on the morning of December 9, in which a 17-year-old youth was killed by an Israeli soldier after throwing a molotov cocktail at an army patrol. This soon sparked a wave of unrest that engulfed the West Bank, gaza, and Jerusalem. Over the next week, rock-throwing, blocked roads, and tire burnings were reported throughout the territories. By December 12, six arabs had died and 30 had been injured in the violence. The following day, rioters threw a gasoline bomb at the US consulate in east Jerusalem. No one was hurt in the bombing. In gaza, rumors circulated that arab youths wounded by Israeli soldiers were being taken to an army hospital near Tel Aviv and "finished off." Another rumor, claimed Israeli troops poisoned a water reservoir in khan yunis. A un official said these stories were untrue. Only the most seriously injured arabs were taken out of the gaza strip for treatment, and, in some cases, this probably saved their lives. The water was also tested and found to be uncontaminated. The intifada was violent from the start. During the first four years of the uprising, more than 3,600 molotov cocktail attacks, 100 hand grenade attacks, and 600 assaults with guns or explosives were reported by the Israel Defense Forces. The violence was directed at soldiers and civilians alike. During this period, 16 Israeli civilians and 11 soldiers were killed by arabs in the territories; more than 1,400 Israeli civilians and 1,700 Israeli soldiers were injured. Throughout the intifada, the plo played a lead role in orchestrating the insurrection. The plo-dominated unified leadership of the intifada (unli), for example, frequently issued leaflets dictating which days violence was to be escalated, and who was to be its target. The plo's leadership of the uprising was challenged by the fundamentalist islamic organization hamas, a violently anti-Semitic group that rejects any peace negotiations with Israel. Israelis were not the only victims of the violence. In fact, as the intifada waned around the time of the Gulf War in 1991, the number of arabs killed for political and other reasons by arab death squads exceeded the number killed in clashes with Israeli troops. plo chairman yasir arafat defended the killing of arabs deemed to be "collaborating with Israel." He delegated the authority to carry out executions to the intifada leadership. After the murders, the local plo death squad sent the file on the case to the plo. "We have studied the files of those who were executed, and found that only two of the 118 who were executed were innocent," arafat said. The innocent victims were declared "martyrs of the arab revolution" by the plo (Al­Mussawar, January 19, 1990). arabs were stabbed, hacked with axes, shot, clubbed, and burned with acid [by arabs]. The justifications offered for the killings varied. In some instances, being employed by Israel's Civil Administration in the West Bank and gaza was reason enough; in others, contact with Jews warranted a death sentence. Accusations of "collaboration" with Israel were sometimes used as a pretext for acts of personal vengeance. Women deemed to have behaved "immorally" were also among the victims. Eventually, the reign of terror became so serious that some arabs expressed public concern about the disorder. The plo began to call for an end to the violence, but murders by its members and rivals continued. From 1989-1992, this intrafada claimed the lives of nearly 1,000 arabs.