Geography of the Intifada

The conflict between Palestinian Arabs and Israelis has steadily expanded since December 1987. This article provides a geographical interpretation of the widening of the conflict. Demographic factors strongly favor the Arabs. Newly established Jewish settlements in the occupied territories provoked the Arabs, and their refugee camps became the initial foci of conflict. The uprising then diffused along principal routes of access in both the Gaza Strip and Judea-Samaria. The unity carefully fostered by the Israelis since 1967 for Jerusalem proved to be ephemeral.