An intifada is a Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule in the occupied territories, especially the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The word itself comes from Arabic and literally means “shaking off” or “uprising,” and in modern political usage it refers in particular to two major Palestinian uprisings, in the late 1980s–1990s and early 2000s.

Basic meaning

  • In Arabic, “intifada” means “uprising” or “shaking off.”
  • In English, it is most often used for Palestinian uprisings against Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
  • Major intifadas combined mass protests, civil disobedience, and, at times, violent confrontations and attacks.

Historical intifadas

  • The First Intifada (starting 1987) involved widespread protests, strikes, and stone-throwing against Israeli forces, along with organized civil disobedience like tax refusal.
  • The Second Intifada (from 2000) was more militarized and deadly, involving suicide bombings, armed clashes, and harsh Israeli military responses.
  • Both uprisings were rooted in long‑term grievances over occupation, settlements, and lack of a Palestinian state.

How the word is used today

  • Supporters may use “intifada” to mean resistance or popular struggle, sometimes emphasizing protest and civil disobedience.
  • Critics often understand calls for “intifada” as endorsing violent attacks on civilians, because past intifadas included such violence.
  • Online and in protests, the term can be emotionally charged and interpreted very differently depending on political views and personal experience.

Why it is controversial

  • The First and especially the Second Intifada saw large numbers of deaths among both Palestinians and Israelis, including civilians.
  • For many Israelis and Jews, “intifada” evokes suicide bombings and other attacks inside Israeli cities.
  • For many Palestinians, it symbolizes resistance to military occupation and a demand for national self‑determination, despite the heavy human cost.

In recent news and forums

  • Since renewed violence in Israel‑Palestine in the 2020s, the term has reappeared in protests, social media slogans, and forum debates.
  • Some activists use it intending a broad, global “uprising” of solidarity and pressure campaigns, while others explicitly or implicitly connect it with violent struggle, which fuels public backlash and accusations of incitement.

TL;DR: An intifada is an Arabic term meaning “uprising,” now most closely associated with Palestinian uprisings—combining protest, civil disobedience, and violence—against Israeli occupation, and it is highly contested because of its history and differing interpretations.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.