Sanitation efforts, including trash removal, virtually ceased. So did maintenance of roads, sidewalks and parks. And military checkpoints restricting movement in and out of Palestinian cities hampered tourism and business. And with the onset of the Palestinian uprising in 1987, the intifada , conditions worsened as young and old held daily rallies during which rocks were thrown and tires burned to protest the occupation. Israeli troops first withdrew from Gaza and Jericho in 1994, then Ramallah, Nablus and Bethlehem in 1995 and Hebron in 1997.
Negotiations are ongoing.
She is a German who has been living in Ramallah for 23 years. Now, when you see soldiers on the street, you don't have to be scared anymore, because they're ours. It makes life more livable. Outside the city, Israeli soldiers continue to man military checkpoints to ensure that Ramallah residents and other Palestinians from the West Bank don't cross into Israel without permission. Even Dr. Harb, the surgeon, has to get a permit from the Israeli government to go into Jerusalem on hospital business.