ABSTRACT
Palestinian traders and shopkeepers, co-ordinated by merchants' committees working with the Unified National Leadership of the Uprising, successfully defied attempts by the Israeli forces to impose an image of business normality. The pro-Israeli commander in the south of Lebanon, Haddad, died of cancer on 15 January 1984, and was succeeded by Brigadier Antoine Lahad. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was still able to attack Israelis in Israel. The Israeli police managed to restore order though administrative measures such as road blocks, body searches and the use of identity cards, but during the first month of the intifada the Israeli military government was unable to control the Palestinian population. During the second phase of the intifada what had initially been a spontaneous outburst became institutionalized with the formation of the Unified National Leadership of the Uprising, which included representatives of both the PLO and Islamic Jihad.
