What is the Arabic root of “Intifada’? What are the verb and noun meanings of the word? What is the historical background to the use of the word? When was it first coined? Were there differences between the First and Second Intifadas? How did the Second Intifada begin? “Intifada” is an Arabic word derived from the root nafada, meaning “to shake”. As a verb intifada means “to be shaken, to wake up”. As a noun it means “shudder, awakening, uprising”, with the implication of “a shaking off” — referring to the process of shaking off sleep or shaking off the dust from one’s feet. In the context of 37 years of Israeli military occupation (as of 2004), Intifada represents a ‘shaking off’ of the chains of occupation. The word was first coined in 1987, to describe the first Palestinian uprising against Israeli military rule. Indeed, the first Intifada was largely characterised by Palestinian disentanglement from the systems that administered the military occupation — a very important “shaking