Summary: Reading Time: 3 minutesThe different trends we have looked at in the last few episodes in this series on the history of the Middle East merged together in the occupied territories during the 1980s. The peace process between Israel and Egypt captured the utter loss of hope in the Arab states and political systems which the Palestinian people once possessed. The atrocities in Lebanon against Palestinian refugees, along with the world’s silence as these occurred perfectly captured the sense of abandonment felt by the Palestinian people living in Gaza and the West Bank. Finally, the rise of religious fundamentalism found a perfect area and people of development among the Palestinians in the occupied territories. These are the ingredients that converged in the 1980s and brought about the first intifada.<br> <br> Having been abandoned in Lebanon the Palestinian people felt alone and forgotten on the world stage. The PLO and Arafat appeared to be stripped of their last vestiges of power and influence after being ousted from Lebanon. The peace process proved the real priorities of the Arab states. Egypt, once the strongest supporter of the Palestinian people had now made peace with Israel and the Palestinians were barely mentioned in those negotiations.<br> Even if the peace process were subtracted from the equation though. The power of the Arab states in the Middle East had proven themselves incapable of delivering the Palestinian people. Their efforts, such as the 1967 Six Days War, only made the situation for the Palestinians worse.<br> <br> The First Intifada<br> This was the perfect setting for religious fundamentalism to thrive. And it did. Many of the Palestinians, like many throughout the Middle East at the time, began to believe their status was the result of abandoning the ways of Islam. This was their true identity. This was why they felt abandoned by God. Different Islamic clerics began preaching this message. The issue for the Palestinians was not to modernize but to return to their roots. Those roots included Islam.<br> Chief among these clerics was an old man bound to a wheel chair. He would become the founder of a group known as Hamas. Through Hamas the first intifada was born.<br> The first intifada was not about warfare. It was also not about passive or nonviolent resistance. It was a grass roots resistance to the overwhelming odds and force which the Israelis were bringing to bare on the Palestinian people.<br> This episode in my history of the Middle East podcast series tells the story of the first intifada. We look at how it formed, what it was really about and how it helped set the stage for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process of the 1990s. We also look at the role of Hamas in the first intifada.<br> <br> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/theendofhistory/PHVq/~6/1" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a><br> <a href="https://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/headlineanimator/install?id=nb64uri41haerm5fvtnnavfgjo&w=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">↑ Grab this Headline Animator</a><br> If you have enjoyed this podcast episode on the history of the Middle East, you might enjoy the entire series. You can download/stream it <a style="color: #800000;" href="https://soundcloud.com/the-end-of-history-podcast/sets/history-of-the-modern-middle-east">here at my SoundCloud page</a> or <a style="color: #800000;" href="https://wp.me/p2iDfo-1tA">click here to see the entire series and posts here at the web site</a>. You might also enjoy my <a style="color: #800000;" href="https://wp.me/p2iDfo-1ty">Guide to Understanding the Middle East</a>.<br> <br>
