ABSTRACT
The reaction of the Palestinians in the territories to the eruption of the Gulf War in January 1991 was mixed. Saddam Husayn’s acts were the first Arab attempt since the 1973 war to strike at Israel’s densely populated areas. The Palestinians momentarily felt that their much-criticized support of Saddam Husayn, whom they saw as their potential liberator, was indeed justified. Many West Bank and Gaza residents were elated when the first missiles fell on Israel. With the outbreak of the war, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip were placed under a round-the-clock curfew, lifted only to enable the population to obtain food suplies. American envoys had been boycotted by the West Bank-Gaza Palestinians since May 1990 when the US suspended its dialogue with the PLO following an abortive PLO-sponsored terrorist attack on Israel.
