People my age, who were 18-19 during the Intifada, have lots of stories to tell. They remember things clearly. Guys four or five years younger than us, who were 13-14 years old at the time, have thousands more stories. From each one you get thousands of stories because each day was a story! Their whole world was the Intifada.
Every day, schools were closed by the Israelis. What could they do? No teachers could get there. Of course they would try and do some underground classes, but most of the time they were free. What to do? It was nice. Khalas!
The early Intifada was really funny. Soldiers had no idea what we would do and were not used to the various tricks we were using to get an advantage over their guns. It took them a long time to learn. The flashing blue lights on the tops of jeeps were excellent targets until they put wire cages around them.
And they used to drive around in open top jeeps, if you can believe that! We used to put fishing line, very strong and almost invisible, across the road at head height. They would be chasing us and suddenly, whack! A few times there were even accidents as a result, until they began to put a high metal post in the middle of the jeep's bonnet.
Other things that took them a long time to adapt to included the types of clothes they were issued with. In winter the soldiers were issued with plastic anoraks to protect them against rain and wind. Unfortunately the first ones they were given were highly flammable. If one came in contact with just a little flame it would burst into flames. You didn't need to prepare a molotov cocktail. Anything soaked in a little petrol and tossed into the jeep would do the trick.
If one person in a jeep caught on fire, the remaining three or four would also catch on fire. Shit! If they were lucky, they would manage to get the first person out in time, otherwise they were so busy dealing with the fire that they would not be able to chase you which, of course, was the idea. It took them a long time to find the right material.
Map by Michael O'Neill.
"It was an adventure, although I never thought it would change anything."
Above: A jeep's blue light and headlights safely protected by wire mesh. Ramallah Redeployment, December 1995. Photo by Nigel Parry.