Pictures from Palestine: Ramallah

After watching Jimmy Carter: Man from Plains, I am all riled up about the situation in Palestine and how little we know about it in the United States.

One of my last days in Israel, right before I left for Egypt, I took a day to visit Ramallah, the de facto capital of the West Bank.

Along with two friends, I took an Arab bus across the border, and to the center of the city.

The city square:

The lions had apparently been graffitied during a protest about Gaza during the weeks previous:

A poster stapled to a pole on the sidewalk, depicting a weeping Palestinian girl hugging an olive tree (the symbol for peace and also one of the main sources of livelihood for many Palestinians).

The tomb of Yasser Arafat:

Outside the tomb:

Looking down on the town square from Stars and Bucks:

Supposedly, the owner visited the U.S. and liked the idea of Starbucks... It is a fun place to eat, kind of like Starbucks, only with some serious Palestinian flare. I encourage you to check out their website, it is a hoot.

And of course, the Wall. This is the security wall built by the Israeli government in an effort of keeping potential terrorists from crossing from the West Bank to Israel. It runs the length of Ramallah, and on our way back to Jerusalem, we stopped to take pictures near the checkpoint. The graffiti on the wall is famous all over the world.

One of my friends told me that the artist who painted this little boy vowed to never paint his face until Palestine was free. He is a recurring image all over the Palestinian Territories.

This image was the in documentary I watched last night, which spurred a whole series of emotions for me.

This is by perhaps one of the most famous artists who has painted on the Wall:

As we rounded the corner to go to the checkpoint, we saw this man just sitting there. He smiled at us and waved for us to take his picture. I think it is priceless.