Ramallah.. The Last Islands of Illusion
An analytical article describing Ramallah and the Al-Tira neighborhood as illusory islands of luxury and political power detached from the reality of occupation, revealing how recent Israeli barriers and incursions have shattered this illusion and exposed the fragility of the supposed Palestinian sovereignty.
The article offers a critical analysis of Ramallah and the Al-Tira neighborhood, describing them as 'the last islands of illusion' that lived in isolation from the reality of occupation. The writer describes how the political and economic class built a lifestyle resembling major capitals, with lavish villas, expensive cars, and real estate prices competing with Paris and London, while Gaza, Jenin, and Tulkarm seem like another planet. However, the illusion was shattered with the spread of Israeli military checkpoints around the city, the raising of Israeli flags in its streets, settlers strolling in its public parks, and culminating in an incident where a Palestinian police officer stopped an armed settler, only to find himself pursued and arrested. The article concludes that the occupation did not need to invade all of Ramallah; it was enough to have a checkpoint humiliating those entering and leaving, a flag flying insolently, and a settler roaming freely within the 'sovereign' neighborhoods.