For Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Obama offered nothing but pretty words and a tacit understanding that all they are getting is sympathy.

When I first decided to move to the West Bank as a freelance journalist, many of my friends thought this was one of my crazy peccadilloes. My mother, of course, was horrified.

All over the world, movements and groups are springing up that contest the comforting blindness. The Occupation is one such movement, growing fast.

What would I be if could have any job in the world ? Perfect decadent escapism for a morning... I would be - An artist! Hanging out in the streets ...

Palestine's revolutionaries have both, predominantly formed of young, foreign-educated, middle-class idealists. Their backgrounds allowed them to understand the Occupation from an intellectual perspective.