act. We have to belong to this prosper-
ous era of liberation and freedom:'
In the square, Ola Elian, a dark-
haired 14-year-old, made the victory
sign and smiled, flashing a mouthful
of braces.
"We want freedom for Palestine and
want to be part of the generation that
will make a change, that will make
Palestine free she said, standing with
a group of school friends.
As Elian spoke, a group of young
men drove by on a truck shouting
chants through loudspeakers.
"We are going to Jerusalem, even
if it means becoming martyrs," some
chanted. "We die to let Palestine live."
Elian said she wanted to join the
protesters demonstrating at Kalandia,
near an Israeli checkpoint, but her
concerned parents had asked her to
stay away.
"We have to take a stand: she said.
Elsewhere in the crowd, 21-year-old
law student Quteiba Majed stood with
a thin kaffiyeh scarf around his head.
He, too, said he had wanted to face off
against Israeli soldiers but that a direc-
tive from the Palestinian Authority
to refrain from clashes kept him in
Ramallah.

Youth Leading
"I'm from Fatah, so I won't disobey:'
Majed said. But, he added, things were
changing.
"Already we are feeling that the
Fatah leadership is listening more
closely to the young people Majed
said, because of the nature of the
youth-led uprisings in neighboring
countries. "Soon, Fatah will be led by a
new, younger face."
Omar Kitan, 30, who tiles floors for a
living, said, "I don't think anyone really
wants things to escalate now Yes, we
might be jihadists as those chanting
say, but now we are fighting by peace-
ful means. We need to be focusing on
the Hamas-Fatah reconciliation. That
needs to be the priority now."
Not everyone was convinced that the
reconciliation agreement reached last
month by the longtime rivals would
last.
"Fatah and Hamas together will not
succeed because a new government
will soon have to be chosen, including
the appointment of a prime minister,
so I figure they will start fighting over
positions by next week:' said Adnan
Salman, a sales manager who works
for the Palestinian telecommunications
company.
Meanwhile, on a large stage, teen-
agers danced to the words of a song
recalling what was lost in 1948.
"To you, our country we will return:'
the song went. "The keys are with us,
our return is imminent." I I

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