Uprisings and peace talks

The first intifada (1987–1993)

In December 1987, protests exploded across Gaza and the West Bank: the first intifadaIntifada✕Arabic for 'shaking off' — a Palestinian uprising. The first (1987–1993) was mostly protests, strikes and stone-throwing. The second (2000–2005) was far deadlier, with suicide bombings in Israel and heavy Israeli military operations.All words explained →, Arabic for "shaking off". Mostly young people threw stones at soldiers; towns went on strike. Israel answered with arrests, curfews and force. About 1,100 Palestinians and 160 IsraelisDeaths in the first intifada (Dec 1987 – Sep 1993)✕about 1,100 Palestinians · 160 IsraelisAs of 1993Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers and civilians; Israelis (100 civilians, 60 security forces) killed by Palestinians. Several hundred more Palestinians were killed by other Palestinians as suspected collaborators.Source: B'Tselem (Israeli human-rights group) — Statistics on fatalities, including the first and second intifadas were killed. That month a new IslamistIslamist✕Describes a political movement that wants government and society to follow Islamic law and values. It is not the same as 'Muslim': most Muslims are not Islamists.All words explained → movement was founded in Gaza: HamasHamas✕A Palestinian Islamist movement with an armed wing, founded in 1987. Its 1988 charter called for Israel's destruction and contained antisemitic language; a 2017 document accepted a Palestinian state on the 1967 lines as a 'national consensus', but still did not recognise Israel and called for the liberation of all of Palestine. It won the 2006 election and took control of Gaza in 2007; since the 2025 ceasefire it still controls the parts of Gaza not held by Israeli troops. The US, the EU, the UK, Canada and others list it as a terrorist organisation.Its supporters: a resistance movement against occupation, and a political party that won an election.Israel and its allies: a terrorist organisation whose aim is to destroy Israel, as 7 October showed.All words explained →. Its 1988 charter called for Israel's destruction.

The Oslo Accords (1993–1995)

On 13 September 1993, Israel's prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat shook hands at the White House. In the Oslo AccordsOslo Accords✕Agreements signed in 1993 and 1995 in which Israel and the PLO recognised each other and created the Palestinian Authority. The hardest questions were left for later, and a final deal was never reached.All words explained →, the PLO recognised Israel's right to exist and gave up terrorism — in effect accepting a future state on 22% of the land. Israel recognised the PLO as the Palestinians' representative, but did not commit to a Palestinian state. A Palestinian AuthorityPalestinian Authority (PA)✕The Palestinian self-government created by the Oslo Accords in 1994. It runs Palestinian cities in parts of the West Bank, led since 2005 by President Mahmoud Abbas. It lost control of Gaza to Hamas in 2007.All words explained → took over Palestinian towns, and the West Bank was divided into Areas A, B and CAreas A, B and C✕The Oslo division of the West Bank. Area A (about 18%): Palestinian civil and police control. Area B (about 22%): Palestinian civil control, Israeli security control. Area C (about 60%): full Israeli control, including all settlements.All words explained →.

The hardest questions — borders, Jerusalem, refugees, settlements and security — were left for later. Opponents of the deal on both sides turned to violence. Hamas, which rejected Oslo, carried out its first suicide attack in 1993. In 1994 an Israeli settler massacred 29 Muslims at prayer in Hebron, and Hamas began bombing buses in Israel. In 1995 an Israeli Jewish extremist assassinated Rabin.

Camp David and the second intifada (2000–2005)

In July 2000, US President Bill Clinton brought Israel's prime minister Ehud Barak and Arafat to Camp David for a final deal. They failed. Clinton publicly blamed Arafat most; some US negotiators later said all three sides made mistakes.

Two views

Why did Camp David fail?

Many Israelis say

Barak offered more than any Israeli leader before: a Palestinian state in Gaza and most of the West Bank, and parts of East Jerusalem. Arafat said no, made no counter-offer, and turned to violence.

Many Palestinians say

The offer was a patchwork cut up by settlements and Israeli roads, without real control of East Jerusalem or its holy sites, and with no fair answer for refugees. No Palestinian leader could have signed it.

These are widely held views, not the views of every Israeli or every Palestinian. Both societies argue about these questions among themselves.

In September 2000 Israel's opposition leader, Ariel Sharon, visited the Temple Mount / Al-Aqsa compound under heavy police guard. Protests followed, Israeli police shot several protesters dead, and a second intifada began. It was far deadlier: Palestinian suicide bombers killed Israelis on buses and in restaurants; the Israeli army reoccupied West Bank cities, and its raids and air strikes killed many Palestinian civilians as well as fighters. About 3,200 Palestinians and 940 IsraelisDeaths in the second intifada (Sep 2000 – end of 2004)✕about 3,200 Palestinians · 940 IsraelisAs of end of 2004B'Tselem's figures: 3,189 Palestinians and 940 Israelis. Most Israeli deaths were civilians, many killed in suicide bombings; many Palestinian deaths were also civilians.Source: B'Tselem (Israeli human-rights group) — Statistics on fatalities, including the first and second intifadas were killed by the end of 2004. Israel built a barrierSeparation barrier✕A fence-and-wall system Israel began building in 2002, during the second intifada, to stop attackers. Israel credits it with cutting suicide bombings. About 85% of its route runs inside the West Bank, and in 2004 the International Court of Justice said those parts break international law.All words explained → in and around the West Bank.

Go deeper · optionalMore: what happened in these years▾

The first intifada. It started after an Israeli truck crashed into a car in Gaza and killed four Palestinians. Several hundred more Palestinians were killed by other Palestinians as suspected collaborators.

Oslo. The PLO had first signalled in 1988 that it accepted a state alongside Israel. Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994. Settlements kept growing during the Oslo years: the number of settlers in the West Bank (not counting East Jerusalem) rose from about 115,000 in 1993 to almost 200,000 in 2000. Each side lost trust in the other.

After Camp David. In December 2000, Clinton put forward his own ideas, the "Clinton Parameters"; talks in early 2001 came closer, but ran out of time.

Who started the second intifada? Israel says Arafat encouraged the violence; Palestinians call it a popular revolt against the occupation. A US-led inquiry (the Mitchell report, 2001) found that Sharon's visit was "poorly timed" but did not cause the uprising, and found no proof of a plan by either side.

The barrier. Israel credits it with stopping suicide bombings. But most of its route runs inside the West Bank, cutting Palestinian farmers off from their land; in 2004 the International Court of Justice said those parts break international law. Israelis call it the security fence; many Palestinians call it the apartheid wall.

New leaders. Arafat died in November 2004, and Mahmoud Abbas was elected Palestinian president in January 2005.