(alternatively Intifadah, from Arabic "shaking off") The two intifadas are similar in that both were originally characterised by civil disobedience by the Palestinans which escalated into the use of terror. In 1987, following the killing of several Arabs in the Gaza Strip, the first intifada began and went on until 1993. The second intafada began in in September 2000, following Ariel Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount.