THE FIRST INTIFADA broke out in December 1987, a year and a half after Abed finished high school. It began as a series of spontaneous protests that erupted when an Israel Defense Forces semitrailer collided with a station wagon in Gaza, killing four Palestinian workers. The protests spread, fueled by years of anger at what Israel’s defense minister called an “iron fist policy.” They quickly transformed into the first organized mass uprising against the occupation, with thousands of street battles pitting stone-throwing Palestinian youth against Israeli troops equipped with armored vehicles and
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