ABSTRACT
The economic impact of the Intifada on Palestinian society in the West Bank and Gaza has been both negative and positive. The impact of the Intifada on the Arabs was akin to arising from a long period of mourning—a mourning for the loss of their land. The social and political changes in Palestinian society within the territories, hastened by the Intifada, began during the 1970s. Some Marxist factions within the Palestine Liberation Organization, such as Palestine Federation of Women's Action Committee, are reluctant to agree with Chairman Arafat's apparent willingness to accept a Palestinian state within the borders of the occupied territories. The political themes emphasized are rejection of American and Israeli government peace proposals, "reactionary initiatives," and attacks on pro-Jordanian elements within the territories. Before the uprising, Israeli sources estimated that the largest fundamentalist faction in Gaza had fewer than 2,000 members.
