Feature contributor to This Is Worldtown, Danah Abdulla of The Yuppie Activist shares snapshots from on the road.

I collect postcards. A box I keep at home contains numerous postcards from across the world, many from places I have visited, and some from places I have yet to discover. On my most recent trip to Palestine, my first since 2002, I entered every shop in Ramallah looking for a postcard of a city other than Jerusalem or Bethlehem. I was unsuccessful. And then I thought to myself, what would a postcard of a Palestinian city resemble? Would it be a view of the flow of olive trees rolling down the hills along with the many houses that have gaudy black water tanks on top of them? Would it be one of the roundabouts that people refer to when giving directions? Or would it be a picture of the reality on the ground, the occupation?

In eight years, a lot has changed - the landscape, the people, the politics, the occupation. Everywhere I turn, I see billboards informing me that this generous contribution was made possible by US Aid, an organization which seems to have dipped into their pockets quite deeply and “invested” in the entire Arab world. My trips across West Bank cities with the service were made smoothly thanks to US Aid. Formerly nothing but gravel, destruction and checkpoints, the highways and roads as I remember them, have disappeared (except for checkpoints), making the image of Palestine on a postcard not far off from the new reality.

If “a state within two years” becomes a reality, a copacetic “Greetings from Palestine” will be featured on postcards soon. Ramallah in particular is being groomed to become the new de facto Palestinian state’s capital, with its clubs, bars, cafés and foreigners with jobs at the latest NGO. Israel is no longer playing the leading role, it has moved down to become the B-list actor. The decreasing number of Israeli soldiers and checkpoints is not a relaxation of Israeli policy on the West Bank, it’s giving way for the new A-list star, the other occupation - the Palestinian police state. But like the red carpet, this is all about appearances. Regardless of the new buildings, and the unnecessary rules that are being imposed on a population that can barely make enough money to enjoy these new add ons in their city, Israel and its occupation is still very much there.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Duwar al-Minara (Al-Minara roundabout) Ramallah’s busiest intersection. Check out the lion wearing a watch.

Heritage buildings are destroyed to make way for newer, taller and more modern buildings