Palestinian Success

Non-violent struggle for change is not easy. And it becomes even harder when the population you are struggling against has no qualms about using highly violent measures. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is multifaceted, with many outside players, so it is no surprise that the solution would be just as complicated. When I first read the question, my immediate response was that the intifada didn't achieve anything and Palestinians are in same place, if not a worse place. But then I went back to look at what was known at the time that he wrote the article (1999) and what happened following the intifada. What I found shifted my perspective somewhat. In the long run, the intifada was not successful in achieving the goals that the Palestinians set, however, that does not mean it wasn't successful in a different way. During that period of time, the Palestinians and Israelis did not communicate or have any kind of relationship. Palestinians were trying to survive and while Israelis were attempting to take and keep all that they could. It can be argued that the intifada lead to the 1993 Agreement, which was the first of its kind. Palestinians used a non-violent approach and it did have an effect on the situation. During that time, it could be considered a MAJOR achievement. Especially to a people who felt they had no voice. Today, we may have different view, and the situation did deteriorate after that point, but that doesn't negate the fact that they tried a different approach and there is evidence of it working.