The First Intifada (Part II): The Road to Oslo

In the second instalment of this testimonial series, Khalid Farraj recounts his experiences as an active member of the uprising in the waning days of the First Intifada, and as a student organizer at Birzeit University during what was arguably the university's most contentious and significant student council elections. In the first instalment, published by the Journal of Palestine Studies in its autumn 2017 issue, Farraj described how the uprising was organized and how it fueled the hopes and dreams of an entire generation of Palestinians. Here, he recalls how the intifada wound down, evoking the new geopolitical context that formed the backdrop to the Oslo peace process; he also provides a granular account of the spring 1994 Birzeit student council elections and anecdotes from daily life that illuminate Oslo's false promises of freedom and self-determination for the Palestinians. This first-person account was translated by Anny Gaul and adapted for publication in English by Maia Tabet. It originally appeared in issue 115 (Summer 2018) of Majallat al-Dirasat al-Filastiniyya, JPS’ Arabic-language sister journal.