What changed between the 1980's and the early 1990's to make many Israelis and Palestinians support the peace efforts of Prime minister Rabin of Israel and Chairman Arafat of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation?
What changed between the 1980’s and the early 1990’s to make many Israelis and Palestinians support the peace efforts of Prime minister Rabin of Israel and Chairman Arafat of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation?
The whole situation was changed by Intifada, which broke out in 1987. This was the spontaneous rising of the Palestinians in the occupied territories. The intention was to make these areas impossible to govern. This was done with a combination of strikes, barricades, stones and missile throwing plus the total hostility of Israel. In the front line there were often Palestinian soldiers doing nothing but throwing stones and taunting their Israeli soldier enemies. Israel reacted to this by arresting alleged leaders in control of the Intifada. Curfews were set up, and when there was violence towards them it was met with violence in return. The effect of this produced many deaths of Israeli and Palestinian soldiers. The Intifada gained world wide support for the Palestinians, as pictures were aired on TV, and shocked the world by them seeing sights such as tear-gas and rifles against the Palestinian children. Within Israel itself there was becoming an enormous awareness of the Intifada and what was happening around them, also there was the thought that young Israeli men who were born into this life would start becoming de-humanised. A key turning event was the result of a 1992 election. The labour party under Yitzhak Rabin became the main party in the Israeli government. Rabin was much trusted by the Israelis as he was a war hero of theirs and he helped plan the six-day war. He and his foreign minister, Shimon Peres began to doubt the need to hold onto the occupied territories. They secretly began to negotiate with the Palestinians over a peace deal.
