Intifadas have rules of their own. At first the field bubbles with economic distress, clashes with settlers, despair and hopelessness. Then a singular event sparks a fire and builds the first circle of recruits to the intifada. In the current uprising, this circle is made up of young assailants who lack organizational affiliation and carry out mostly knife attacks without directives from anyone. But as time passes and the number of casualties on the Palestinian side increases, the circle of recruits widens. The desire to take revenge for the deaths of the attackers becomes the main motive for what is seen by many Palestinians as a war of no choice.
At a certain point the pressure to join also affects members of the Palestinian security forces. The population in the territories believes these forces are supposed to defend it and maintain security in the face of any threat, and the main argument is that when they sit on the fence, the weapons they carry become meaningless.