ABSTRACT
The Palestine uprising, or Intifada, that erupted in Gaza and the West Bank during December 1987 was the latest manifestation of the 70-year-old Arab-Israeli conflict. In the period from the establishment of Israel in 1948 to 1967, only a small number of Palestinians, the Arab citizen minority of Israel, were subject to the authority of the Jewish State. Only since 1987, at the insistence of the European Economic Community, Arab farmers in the occupied territories have been permitted to make direct sales to European markets. Steps to the "improved quality of life" and reappointment of Arab mayors were regarded with skepticism by the population at large. Nevertheless, the harm had been done, and Arab anxiety about Israeli policies was raised several notches, even among West Bank moderates. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency school system run by Palestinian administrators and teachers was, unlike the government schools, relatively free from interference by Israeli authorities.
