Palestinian mayor presides over boom times in Ramallah

[oberliner]

Reporting from Ramallah, West Bank — The recent groundbreaking for a new Palestinian Authority presidential headquarters here in Ramallah underscored an unprecedented building and investment boom in the West Bank city. Land prices have tripled. International hotel chains are arriving. And master-planned housing projects are underway around town to accommodate a fast-rising population.

But not everyone is thrilled with Ramallah's growth. Some worry the city is becoming the Palestinians' de facto capital, overshadowing East Jerusalem, which most Palestinians hope to one day make the center of a new Palestinian state. And international donors have been cool to Ramallah's municipal government, a coalition that includes the political wing of Hamas, the militant movement that controls the Gaza Strip.

Overseeing Ramallah's expansion is Mayor Janet Mikhail, elected as a Christian independent and one of the only female mayors in the male-dominated Palestinian territories. After winning six seats on the 15-member City Council, her political slate made a fragile alliance with Islamist Hamas to form a majority against Fatah, the West Bank's dominant political party.

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/dec/25/world/la-fg-ramallah-qa-20101226