ABSTRACT
A common scene in the West Bank or Gaza Strip: Israeli soldiers beating a child or man. Despite provocations of all kinds, the Palestinian leadership, both inside and outside the West Bank, remains amazingly calm and confident. Democracy and leadership as practised by the Palestinians during the first two years of the intifada derive not from theory but from living experience. What has so far been missing from the learning that has been taking place in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip is a process of conscious and systematic reflection, dialogue, and the articulation of the experiences of the community. The response of the United States has been to increase considerably the amount of aid assistance to the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The response of Palestinian universities to the developments which accompanied the intifada is of particular interest: predictably, it has been pale at best.
