The First Intifada, also known as the First Palestinian Intifada or the Stone Intifada, was a sustained series of protests, acts of civil disobedience and riots carried out by Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories and Israel. It was motivated by collective Palestinian frustration over Israel's military occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as it approached a twenty-year mark, having begun in the wake of the 1967 Arab–Israeli War. The uprising lasted from December 1987 until the Madrid Conference of 1991, though some date its conclusion to 1993, with the signing of the Oslo Accords.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 471, adopted on 5 June 1980 under Chapter VI of the United Nations Charter was on the issue of the Israeli occupation and settlement activity in the Palestinian territories of East Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights.
The 1990 Temple Mount killings, or the Al Aqsa Massacre, also known as Black Monday, took place in the Al-Aqsa compound on the Temple Mount, Jerusalem at 10:30 am on Monday, October 8, 1990, before Zuhr prayer during the third year of the First Intifada. Following a decision by the Temple Mount Faithful to lay the cornerstone for the Temple, mass riots erupted, In the ensuing clashes, 17 Palestinians died, more than 150 Palestinians were wounded by Israeli security forces, and more than 20 Israeli civilians and police were wounded by Palestinians. United Nations Security Council Resolution 672, which was rejected by Israel, "condemned especially the acts of violence committed by the Israeli security forces" and United Nations Security Council Resolution 673 urged that Israel reconsider its refusal to allow United Nations Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar to carry out an investigation.
In United Nations Security Council resolution 1322, adopted on 7 October 2000, after recalling resolutions 476 (1980), 478 (1980), 672 (1990) and 1073 (1996), the Council deplored the visit by Ariel Sharon to the Temple Mount and the subsequent violence which, according to the Resolution, had resulted in the deaths of over 80 Palestinians. The Resolution did not condemn or mention reported Israeli deaths, although it did deplore what it described as "many other casualties."
In 2009, clashes between Muslim Palestinians and Israeli police erupted on September 27, 2009, and continued to late October. Violence spread through East Jerusalem and parts of the West Bank, and included throwing of Molotov cocktails and stones at Israeli security forces and civilians. Israeli police responded with arrests of rioters and sporadic age-based restriction of access to the Temple Mount. Several dozen rioters, police and Israeli civilians have been injured.
United Nations Security Council resolution 673, adopted unanimously on 24 October 1990, after reaffirming Resolution 672 (1990), the Council deplored Israel's refusal to receive the mission of the Secretary-General to the region.
United Nations Security Council resolution 681, adopted unanimously on 20 December 1990, after receiving the report from the Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar authorised in Resolution 672 (1990) regarding the riots at Temple Mount, the council expressed its concern over Israel's rejection of resolutions 672 (1990) and 673 (1990).
United Nations Security Council resolution 694, adopted unanimously on 24 May 1991, after reaffirming Resolution 681 (1990) and learning of the deportation of four Palestinians by Israel in the occupied territories on 18 May 1991, the Council condemned the deportations that were in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention referring to the protection of civilians in times of war.
United Nations Security Council resolution 799, adopted unanimously on 18 December 1992, after reaffirming resolutions 607 (1988), 608 (1990), 636 (1989), 641 (1989), 681 (1990), 694 (1991) and 726 (1992) and learning of the deportation of hundreds of Palestinians by Israel in the occupied territories on 17 December 1992, the Council condemned the deportations that were in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention referring to the protection of civilians in times of war.
United Nations Security Council resolution 904 was adopted without a vote on 18 March 1994. After expressing its shock at the massacre committed against Palestinian worshippers in the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron in the West Bank, the Council called for measures to be taken to guarantee the safety and protection of the Palestinian civilians throughout the occupied territory.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1073, adopted on 28 September 1996, after recalling all resolutions on Jerusalem and noting a letter from Saudi Arabia on behalf of the Arab League, the Council called on Israel to cease and reverse all acts which had resulted in aggravation in the region.
At present, the Government of Israel controls access to the Temple Mount, also known as Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, in East Jerusalem's Old City, which is a holy place for Muslims, Jews, and Christians and an Islamic religious endowment under the management of the Jordan-based Jerusalem Islamic Waqf. There are entry limits to the Temple Mount for political and security reasons. In addition, Jewish religious law imposes restrictions on religious Jews on entering the compound.
Events in the year 2015 in the State of Palestine.
The Western Wall Tunnel riots erupted on 24 September 1996, lasting primarily for four days, with smaller isolated outbreaks of violence occurring after this period. This conflict was the first between the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and the newly created Palestinian National Security Forces (NSF). The protests and riots were initially contained within Jerusalem, but over the week spread to cities and towns across the West Bank and Gaza, resulting in 59 Palestinians and 16 Israelis being killed along with hundreds of wounded.
The Occupied Palestine Resolution is the common name for Document 200 EX/25, passed on October 13, 2016, and formally ratified on October 26, 2016, as a decision of the executive board of UNESCO. The resolution is a formal condemnation of Israel, referred to throughout as "the occupying Power", for allowing alleged aggression against the Palestinian people, as well as past failures to protect exclusive Muslim use of the Abrahamic holy site the Temple Mount and infrastructure work in East Jerusalem. The resolution was intended to be put to vote in Turkey in June 2016, but the 2016 Atatürk Airport attack forced UNESCO to postpone the vote until their planned reconvening in Paris during October. The extended period of time allowed the release of the news that such a resolution was to be put into vote, and Israel expressed its outrage. The resolution was put forth by Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar and Sudan, and passed 24:6, with 28 abstentions. Ultimately the final count was 23:7. Those voting against included the US, Germany and Britain.
On 15 April 2022, clashes erupted between Palestinians and Israeli Security Forces on the Al-Aqsa compound in the Old City of Jerusalem. According to the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, the clashes began when Palestinians threw stones, firecrackers, and other heavy objects at Israeli police officers. The policemen used tear gas shells, stun grenades and police batons against the Palestinians. Some Palestinians afterwards barricaded themselves inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque and proceeded to throw stones at the officers. In response, police raided the mosque, arresting those who had barricaded themselves inside. In addition, some damage was done to the mosque's structure.
Al-Aqsa has been the site of frequent clashes between Palestinian Arab visitors and both Israeli security forces and Israeli groups, beginning with the 1990 Temple Mount killings, or Al-Aqsa Massacre, and most recently culminating in the 2023 Al-Aqsa clashes.
