The first intifada begins, and Hamas is founded — Key Events — Levant

What happened

A Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule begins in Gaza and spreads to the West Bank. In December 1987 the Muslim Brotherhood's Gaza leadership founds the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, outside the PLO.

The uprising moved the centre of Palestinian politics into the territories and, with Jordan's disengagement from the West Bank in July 1988, left the PLO as the only Palestinian interlocutor. Hamas's founding outside the PLO is the origin of the split that has defined Palestinian governance since 2007.

Confidence: High

WhenDec 1987 – 1993

KindPolitical · Military

Confidence: High Sources: Established historical record Methodology Corrections

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Connected records

1 record that this event names, or that name it — every one an explicit reference in a published record, nothing inferred from subject matter.

Actors1

Actor records this event names.

Hamas

Where this fits

This is one entry in the Levant timeline. The full Key Events surface carries every dated turning point with its filters and its essential subset, and this event in place shows what came before and after it. How Vigil grades, dates and sources its claims is set out in the methodology.