The fatalities of the Intifada (uprising): the first five years

The uprising of the Palestinian population (Intifada) against the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, which erupted in December 1987, has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Israeli citizens and Palestinian residents. The data on dead victims, as reported by two civil rights organizations of opposite political orientation and by the official military authority, are analyzed and compared with the information obtained from post-mortem examinations of some 65% of the victims carried out over the period 1987 to 1992. The agencies' reports were found to differ, sometimes markedly, from the official autopsy data in respect of number of deaths, their cause and manner. The study indicates a generally downward trend in the number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli Defence Forces, which could be the result of the wider use of rubber and plastic bullets, and a steady continuous increase in Israeli victims killed by the Palestinians, possibly accounted for by a shift from the use of "cold weapons" in favour of firearms, and an escalation in violence. It is suggested that the post-mortem examination should be an essential tool for the detection and documentation of possible abuse and bodily harm.