Third Intifada

The exact meaning of Third Intifada, most scholars agree, has not yet been clearly defined. However, it is currently being referred to Israeli-Palestinian conflict which forms part of the wider Arab-Israeli conflict. Some commentators claim that "Third Intifada" started with the start of Israel's 2008-2010 offensive in Gaza. Unlike the Second Intifada, which involved mainly Palestinian groups such as Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, this uprising is not characterized by acts of violence.
At the same time, there is a growing tendency among scholars to comprehend the notion that "Third Intifada" is rather "non-violent uprising with words sharper than a two-edged sword." It has been suggested that Yasser Arafat, has had stated just before his death that the "Third Intifada" will not at all resemble to the past struggles for peace in Palestine, but would be a different kind of human involvement".
Some insist that "non-violent resistance" is a better action to "defending against foreign invasions and occupations." Third Intifada is also closely associated with concept of sumud, an ideological theme and political strategy that first emerged among the Palestinian people through the experience of the dialectic of conquest and resistance in the wake of the Six-Day War.
Naming
The beginning and existence of a Third Intifada are disputed. Reasons include the fact the end of the Second Intifada was never properly determined, since no peace accord of any kind was signed between the sides. Speculations on the end of the Second Intifada range from somewhere in 2004 to 2005 or in the last months of 2008. Consequently, the beginning of a Third Intifada was already referred to as early as September 2005, when according to many opinions, the Second Intifada was still ongoing. Muhammad Ranaim, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, mentioned in September 2005 the possibility of a third intifada, which would be "much more severe than its predecessor," according to Ranaim, who referred to it as an "intifada against the Israeli West Bank barrier."
Both, pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian scholars tend to attribute Arafat's words to the "recent internationally strong anti-war movement sentiments" that occurred during winter 2008-2009 Gaza War. Israeli professor of Law and a Palestinian scholar, claimed in an article published 10 July 2009 in "Al Jazeera" (later re-produced by Haaretz) "Where we are heading to?", that the "Third Intifada" has actually had already began with the Gaza War, "so the international liberal community, after being humiliated by inhuman acts "had developed a 'common resistance" against acts of "war and violence".

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