Structured Response #6

In Dijani’s article, the goals and the effectiveness of the Intifada civil resistance group are discussed and evaluated. Though ultimately unsuccessful in solving the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, the group did have clear goals: to make the Occupied Palestinian Territories ungovernable by Israel and to establish social structures within the region that would be the basis for a new Palestinian state.

Palestinians were both empowered and frustrated by their attempt at resistance. Though they were motivated to make changes, much of their time was spent on the defensive, working against Israel and trying to keep their forces united. Success was hard to come by, and for that reason small setbacks became increasingly difficult to face. As resentment grew, fighting within the resistance began to occur, which made fighting against Israel nearly impossible.

Dijani describes the Israeli’s as being “stunned and confused” by the Palestinian uprising. At first, they went on the defensive but later decided to use military might to suppress the resistance. Israeli’s differed in their personal responses to Intifada, some realizing that tried to occupy another nation would never end peacefully, and others deciding that a new Palestinian state could not emerge and it was crucial to suppress the revolt.

Though the Intifada did not succeed in creating a new Palestinian state, it did have an impact on the Israeli army, government, and public. Some members of the Palestinian army felt uncomfortable about their role in suppressing a movement that should have been solved politically, and some refused to participate in the oppression at all. In regards to Israeli society, many more peace groups developed in Israel during the time of the Intifada, and these groups supported ending the occupation. Though the Intifada affected parts of Israeli society, it was never strong enough to affect actually policies of the government and create real change.