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By the 1970's the PLO had established themselves in Lebanon and were launching attacks into the North of Israel. As a result, Israel invaded Lebanon in 1978 in order to ˜establish a security zone'. In 1982, Begin launched ˜Operation for Peace in the Galilee' which was a final attempt to eliminate the PLO entirely. The IDF moved through the security zone, and for a month laid siege to the city of Beirut, destroying much of the city and killing Lebanese and Palestinians alike. In accordance with Israeli policy of reprisal and ˜tit-for-tat', Israeli defense minister Ariel Sharon allowed IDF troops to stand by as Phalangist Christians massacre 2,000 Palestinian refugees in the Sabra and Shatila camps in Beirut. This caused resentment of Israeli policy worldwide & particularly from many Jews who protested in Tel Aviv. The Intifada or "Palestinian uprising" broke out on the 9th December 1987. The initial demonstrations and clashes were not orchestrated by the PLO, but were a spontaneous response to the mounting frustration with the Israeli army occupation felt in Gaza and the West Bank. The emergence of a new generation that were far more demanding than their parents, who were represented in gangs of youths (shabiba) put up barricades and burnt tires on the streets in the OPT. Defense minister Yitzhak Rabin called for an "iron fist" policy to "break bones" if necessary. This included the use of tear gas and plastic bullets with deadly metal cores. Many would suffer and die. Eventually spreading into Israel itself, first year of the Intifada resulted more than 150 Palestinians were killed and around 11 500 were wounded (two-thirds of who were under fifteen years of age). The Intifada resulted in an unprecedented wave of international sympathy for the Palestinian cause. However it also showed that the Palestinians couldn't remove Israel from the OPT without the assistance of the US, as Israel had a firm policy of refusing to talk to the PLO.
