This overshadowing was eventually superseded by Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. The ensuing Gulf War affected the Intifada on a couple different levels. Most obviously, it took the Intifada out of the spotlight in the news, which was bad for the Palestinians. The Iraqi invasion also disturbed the Middle East’s fragile balance of powers (Israel 2). The United States’ ties with Israel were put to the test because other Middle Eastern countries like Iran got military support while Israel received nothing more than their usual $1.8 billion a year (Sidelined 2). Israel’s Likud-Labor coalition government collapsed because it could not agree with America’s terms for talking peace with the Palestinians during this time (Sidelined 2). While the Palestinians openly supported Iraq’s invasion, Israel kept relatively quiet because the United States paid them for their silence (Sidelined 2). These issues are all because of the invasion. Before his invasion, Hussein tried to manufacture a link between Palestine and Kuwait. He popularized himself with Arabs by threatening to devour half of Israel with chemical weapons if attacked (Massacre on the Mount 2). He also accused Kuwait of working with Israel to sabotage Iraq’s economy. He basically tried to draw a parallel between the two countries in order to make it appear that he was not the "bad guy." Many Arabs followed Hussein’s reasoning because they are "only too willing to believe that Israel is not just an eternal enemy but also a uniquely evil one" (Massacre on the Mount 2). This only increased tensions between the two ethnic groups. Of course, Hussein withdrew from Kuwait and the Intifada violently limped on .

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