Unrest in Palestine

Feb. 9, 1987

Unrest in Palestine A view of the crowded Balata refugee camp in Nablus. Balata is the largest refugee camp in the West Bank, housing nearly 30,000 people, September 23, 2009, (Nati Shohat/Flash90)
A wave of unrest across Palestine begins when demonstrators from the Balata refugee camp in the West Bank, protesting the siege of the Palestinian Shatila refugee camp in Lebanon by the Amal Movement, clash with Israeli soldiers, who escalate their response with live fire, injuring demonstrators and sparking solidarity actions by Palestinians in other parts of the occupied territories. Israel temporarily shuts down Palestinian university campuses as part of its retaliation. Another wave of unrest begins in March of 1987, culminating in the First Intifada, which broke out in December of that year.