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POLITICAL CAPITAL
Borrowing from its Arabic translation "height of God", Ramallah experienced a new height of political activism with Yasser Arafat’s establishment of the Palestinian Authority’s headquarters in the city. Over the decades, Ramallah has transformed into the unofficial seat of political power as well the most economically affluent city in occupied Palestinian territories. Until the political split between Fatah and Hamas, following control of Gaza by the latter in 2006, Ramallah served as the sole unofficial capital of the occupied territories.
THE FIRST & SECOND INTIFADA
Ramallah was the first city in the occupied West Bank to participate in the first Intifada of 1987. The city experienced a combination of protests, strikes, armed action and retaliation against Israeli forces representing the occupation. Political representatives and activists from Ramallah participated in the Madrid Conference of 1991 to draft the details of a peace negotiation. These events eventually culminated into the Oslo Accords leading to an interim self government arrangement for the Palestinian Authority that would continue to be based in Ramallah.
The city re-experienced curfews, shutting down of schools and public institutions and confrontations between Israeli forces and Palestinians during the second intifada in 2000. Ramallah’s reoccupation by Israeli forces in 2002 led to economic deterioration and infrastructure damage from which the city continues to recuperate.
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