Abir Dandis, the mother of the two girls who were murdered in the Negev town of Al-Fura’a last week, couldn't find a police officer to listen to her warnings, neither in Arad nor in Ma’ale Adumim. Both police stations operate in areas where Israel wants to gather the Bedouin into permanent communities, against their will, in order to clear more land for Jewish communities. The dismissive treatment Dandis received shows how the Bedouin are considered simply to be lawbreakers by their very nature. But as a resident of the West Bank asking for help for her daughters, whose father was Israeli, Dandis faced the legal-bureaucratic maze created by the Oslo Accords.

The Palestinian police is not allowed to arrest Israeli civilians. It must hand suspects over to the Israel Police. The Palestinian police complain that in cases of Israelis suspected of committing crimes against Palestinian residents, the Israel Police tend not to investigate or prosecute them.

In addition, the town of Al-Azaria, where Dandis lives, is in Area B, under Palestinian civilian authority and Israeli security authority. According to the testimony of Palestinian residents, neither the IDF nor the Israel Police has any interest in internal Palestinian crime even though they have both the authority and the obligation to act in Area B.

The Palestinian police are limited in what it can do in Area B. Bringing in reinforcements or carrying weapons in emergency situations requires coordination with, and obtaining permission from, the IDF. If Dandis fears that the man who murdered her daughters is going to attack her as well, she has plenty of reason to fear that she will not receive appropriate, immediate police protection from either the Israelis or the Palestinians.

Dandis told Jack Khoury of Haaretz that the Ma’ale Adumim police referred her to the Palestinian Civil Affairs Coordination and Liaison Committee. Theoretically, this committee (which is subordinate to the Civil Affairs Ministry) is the logical place to go for such matters. Its parallel agency in Israel is the Civilian Liaison Committee (which is part of the Coordination and Liaison Administration - a part of the Civil Administration under the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories).

In their meetings, they are supposed to discuss matters such as settlers’ complaints about the high volume of the loudspeakers at mosques or Palestinians’ complaints about attacks by settlers. But the Palestinians see the Liaison Committee as a place to submit requests for permission to travel to Israel, and get the impression that its clerks do not have much power when faced with their Israeli counterparts. In any case, the coordination process is cumbersome and long.

The Palestinian police has a family welfare unit, and activists in Palestinian women’s organizations say that in recent years, its performance has improved. But, as stated, it has no authority over Israeli civilians and residents. Several non-governmental women’s groups also operate in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem, and women in similar situations approach them for help. The manager of one such organization told Haaretz that Dandis also fell victim to this confusing duplication of procedures and laws. Had Dandis approached her, she said, she would have referred her to Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, which has expertise in navigating Israel’s laws and authorities.

John Kerry revealed his long-awaited plan for peace in the Middle East on Sunday, hinging on a $4bn (£2.6bn) investment in the Palestinian private sector.

The US secretary of state, speaking at the World Economic Forum on the Jordanian shores of the Dead Sea, told an audience including Israeli president Shimon Peres and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas that an independent Palestinian economy is essential to achieving a sustainable peace.

Speaking under the conference banner "Breaking the Impasse", Kerry announced a plan that he promised would be "bigger, bolder and more ambitious" than anything since the Oslo accords, more than 20 years ago.

Tony Blair is to lead a group of private sector leaders in devising a plan to release the Palestinian economy from its dependence on international donors. The initial findings of Blair's taskforce, Kerry boasted, were "stunning", predicting a 50% increase in Palestinian GDP over three years, a cut of two-thirds in unemployment rates and almost double the Palestinian median wage. Currently, 40% of the Palestinian economy is supplied by donor aid.

Kerry assured Abbas that the economic plan was not a substitute for a political solution, which remains the US's "top priority".

Peres, who had taken the stage just minutes before, also issued a personal plea to his Palestinian counterpart to return to the negotiations.

"Let me say to my dear friend President Abbas," Peres said, "Should we really dance around the table? Lets sit together. You'll be surprised how much can be achieved in open, direct and organised meetings."

Thick locks hug the front gates of shuttered shops, now covered in graffiti and dust from lack of use. Only a handful of customers pass along the dimly lit road, sometimes stopping to check the ripeness of fruits and vegetables, or ordering meat in near-empty butcher shops.

“All the shops are closed. I’m the only one open. This used to be the best place,” said 64-year-old Mustafa Sunocret, selling vegetables out of a small storefront in the marketplace near his family’s home in the Muslim quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City.

Amidst the brightly coloured scarves, clothes and carpets, ceramic pottery and religious souvenirs filling the shops of Jerusalem’s historic Old City, Palestinian merchants are struggling to keep their businesses alive.

Faced with worsening health problems, Sunocret told IPS that he cannot work outside of the Old City, even as the cost of maintaining his shop, with high electricity, water and municipal tax bills to pay, weighs on him.

“I only have this shop,” he said. “There is no other work. I’m tired.”

Abed Ajloni, the owner of an antiques shop in the Old City, owes the Jerusalem municipality 250,000 Israeli shekels (68,300 U.S. dollars) in taxes. He told IPS that almost every day, the city’s tax collectors come into the Old City, accompanied by Israeli police and soldiers, to pressure people there to pay.

“It feels like they’re coming again to occupy the city, with the soldiers and police,” Ajloni, who has owned the same shop for 35 years, told IPS. “But where can I go? What can I do? All my life I was in this place.”

He added, “Does Jerusalem belong to us, or to someone else? Who’s responsible for Jerusalem? Who?”

Illegal annexation

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, including the Old City, in 1967. In July 1980, it passed a law stating that “Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel”. But Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem and subsequent application of Israeli laws over the entire city remain unrecognised by the international community.

Under international law, East Jerusalem is considered occupied territory – along with the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Syrian Golan Heights – and Palestinian residents of the city are protected under the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Jerusalem has historically been the economic, political and cultural centre of life for the entire Palestinian population. But after decades languishing under destructive Israeli policies meant to isolate the city from the rest of the Occupied Territories and a lack of municipal services and investment, East Jerusalem has slipped into a state of poverty and neglect.

“After some 45 years of occupation, Arab Jerusalemites suffer from political and cultural schizophrenia, simultaneously connected with and isolated from their two hinterlands: Ramallah and the West Bank to their east, West Jerusalem and Israel to the west,” the International Crisis Group recently wrote.

Israeli restrictions on planning and building, home demolitions, lack of investment in education and jobs, construction of an eight-foot-high separation barrier between and around Palestinian neighbourhoods and the creation of a permit system to enter Jerusalem have all contributed to the city’s isolation.

Formal Palestinian political groups have also been banned from the city, and between 2001-2009, Israel closed an estimated 26 organisations, including the former Palestinian Liberation Organisation headquarters in Jerusalem, the Orient House and the Jerusalem Chamber of Commerce.

Extreme poverty

Israel’s policies have also led to higher prices for basic goods and services and forced many Palestinian business owners to close shop and move to Ramallah or other Palestinian neighbourhoods on the other side of the wall. Many Palestinian Jerusalemites also prefer to do their shopping in the West Bank, or in West Jerusalem, where prices are lower.

While Palestinians constitute 39 percent of the city’s population today, almost 80 percent of East Jerusalem residents, including 85 percent of children, live below the poverty line.

“How could you develop [an] economy if you don’t control your resources? How could you develop [an] economy if you don’t have any control of your borders?” said Zakaria Odeh, director of the Civic Coalition for Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem, of “this kind of fragmentation, checkpoints, closure”.

“Without freedom of movement of goods and human beings, how could you develop an economy?” he asked.

“You can’t talk about independent economy in Jerusalem or the West Bank or in all of Palestine without a political solution. We don’t have a Palestinian economy; we have economic activities. That’s all we have,” Odeh told IPS.

Israel’s separation barrier alone, according to a new report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTD), has caused a direct loss of over one billion dollars to Palestinians in Jerusalem, and continues to incur 200 million dollars per year in lost opportunities.

Israel’s severing and control over the Jerusalem-Jericho road – the historical trade route that connected Jerusalem to the rest of the West Bank and Middle East – has also contributed to the city’s economic downturn.

Separation of Jerusalem from West Bank

Before the First Intifada (Arabic for “uprising”) began in the late 1980s, East Jerusalem contributed approximately 14 to 15 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in the Occupied Palestinian territories (OPT). By 2000, that number had dropped to less than eight percent; in 2010, the East Jerusalem economy, compared to the rest of the OPT, was estimated at only seven percent.

“Economic separation resulted in the contraction in the relative size of the East Jerusalem economy, its detachment from the remaining OPT and the gradual redirection of East Jerusalem employment towards the Israeli labour market,” the U.N. report found.

Decades ago, Israel adopted a policy to maintain a so-called “demographic balance” in Jerusalem and attempt to limit Palestinian residents of the city to 26.5 percent or less of the total population.

To maintain this composition, Israel built numerous Jewish-Israeli settlements inside and in a ring around Jerusalem and changed the municipal boundaries to encompass Jewish neighbourhoods while excluding Palestinian ones.

It is now estimated that 90,000 Palestinians holding Jerusalem residency rights live on the other side of the separation barrier and must cross through Israeli checkpoints in order to reach Jerusalem for school, medical treatment, work, and other services.

“Israel is using all kinds of tools to push the Palestinians to leave; sometimes they are visible, and sometimes invisible tools,” explained Ziad al-Hammouri, director of the Jerusalem Centre for Social and Economic Rights (JCSER).

Al-Hammouri told IPS that at least 25 percent of the 1,000 Palestinian shops in the Old City were closed in recent years as a result of high municipal taxes and a lack of customers. “Taxation is an invisible tool…as dangerous as revoking ID cards and demolishing houses,” he said. “Israel will use this as pressure and as a tool in the future to confiscate these shops and properties.”

It is becoming increasingly clear to the United States and Europe that Israel is simply not interested in returning to peace negotiations or ever will be under its current leadership.

The latest show of defiance from Netanyahu's government came through a few days ago when Israel officially approved the construction of 455 new colonies in the West Bank, totally dismissing US and others' demand to freeze all colony activity.

From the Israeli point of view this move comes as an attempt by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cement the support of his coalition government as many within it are committed to Israel's carving of more Palestinian land. So it could be argued that Netanyahu is caught between pleasing his right-wing colleagues in Israel and catering to international demands, not to mention international law. Frankly though, this is just becoming ridiculous.

For so many years, Israel has sold itself as a peace partner, willing to reach a compromise even if it meant making 'painful' concessions (remember withdrawal from Gaza?). This was so well received in the United States and the rest of the international community. One had hoped though that with US President Barack Obama coming to power, he would bring along a much needed dose of objectivity when approaching the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Of course, he has shown promising signs of commitment, mentioning Palestinian suffering and highlighting Palestinian refugees. He even called for a colony halt and stood by it despite Israeli resistance. But Israel's latest move to go ahead with its colony project is but a slap in the face for Obama and he has to react forcefully. Lopsided pressure has proved useless for Israel. What ought to come next is both political and economic pressure from Washington. Isn't it time the US reacted to Israeli arrogance?

The United States is aiming to take a "new way forward" in its relationship with the Muslim world. Of this there is no question. Its President Barack Obama succeeded in delivering a message of respect to Muslims across the world through his historic speech in Cairo yesterday. His familiarity with Islam and his ability to quote comfortably from the Quran (he did it four times) is bound to resonate in this part of the world.

The speech's theme was respect and religion. From the start, Obama urged an end to the discord between Islam and the West and called for a new beginning. His knowledge of history supports his view that the Middle East has suffered at the hands of external interferences. "More recently, tension has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslim-majority countries were too often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations," he said.

Overall, Obama's message on regional affairs was familiar and he did not introduce any new policies or details. He addressed key points on Iraq, Afghanistan, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Iran. He stuck to his deadline of August 2010 by which time all US troops will have left Iraq. On Afghanistan he insisted that his government did not want to keep any US troops there, and on Iran he continued to reiterate that Iran has a right to peaceful nuclear power - provided it complies with its responsibilities under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Obama's take on the ongoing Israeli Palestinian conflict was traditional: he outlined the suffering of both the Israelis and Palestinians. But it is refreshing to hear a US president speak of the Palestinian people's "intolerable" situation. Moreover, his acknowledgement that Hamas has support amongst Palestinians means he has shifted from his predecessor's staunch hardline stance against the group. Nevertheless, Obama said that Hamas must put an end to violence and recognise Israel's right to exist.

In fact, now that Obama has met with the leaders of the Arab world's two most influential nations, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, he has a perfect opportunity to jumpstart the stalled peace process and build on positive points from his trip. It took the previous president years before he turned his attention towards the conflict. From what we heard yesterday, Obama already understands that without resolving the Palestinian people's plight, peace and stability in this part of the world cannot be achieved.

For example, his staunch position against Israel's colony expansion or his call on Israel to lift the siege of Gaza must acted upon. America's words have so far had no impact on Israeli policies.

Obama said it best when he declared: "No single speech can eradicate years of mistrust, nor can I answer in the time that I have all the complex questions that brought us to this point." The onus is now on him to carry his positive messages forward. After all, everyone is anxious to see action on the ground.

We are being assured by world leaders that they agree Israeli colony expansion must be stopped.

They say the expansion of colonies in the Occupied Territories is an obstacle to peace in the Middle East and the creation of a viable independent Palestinian state. But the question is, what are they doing about it? Nothing really.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed yesterday to continue the construction of homes in Jewish colonies in the West Bank, less than a week after US President Barack Obama called on the Israeli government to halt such actions.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last Tuesday that Obama wanted to ban any kind of colonising activity, including what the Israelis call 'natural growth'.

On Sunday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who arrived in the UAE yesterday, joined the US in calling for a halt to colony construction in the Occupied Territories, saying "it hinders peace" in the region.

These are fine words. But the Palestinians rightly feel that hypocrisy is at work here. There are almost 300,000 Israelis living in 121 colonies in the West Bank. Israel has also approved a plan recently to build more units in and around occupied Jerusalem.

So where do we go from here? We know the Arab League is an ineffective body that has watched helplessly as the Palestinian land has been carved up by Israeli colonies year after year.

The logical thing is for Obama and Sarkozy to back their words with deeds. Israel must be held accountable, as it will not stop hindering the peace process unless the international community steps up pressure on it.

It is time international sanctions were imposed on Israel. Otherwise, in few years, there will be no Palestinian land left to speak of.

It was entirely expected but nonetheless totally outrageous when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to endorse the idea of a two-state solution during his first bilateral meeting as Israel's head of government with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak this week. Netanyahu refused to discuss the previous Israeli government's position that Palestinian statehood should eventually come about, which was linked to Israel's security requirements.

The hard-line Israeli leader's actions thus far are in line with widespread expectations that his election is a major step backwards for the Palestinian peace process. Netanyahu was hoping to distract attention away from the two-state solution when he said that he hoped to renew peace talks in the coming weeks, and that he wants to discuss economic cooperation with the Palestinians first.

Mubarak did not respond publicly to Netanyahu's refusal to endorse at least the principle of land for peace. But when Mubarak travels to Washington in a few weeks he will have the opportunity to make very clear to US President Barack Obama that land for peace is the only way to find an equitable solution that will satisfy all parties. Without this essential principle in place, the whole credibility of the peace process will crumble, giving huge encouragement to those who call for continued armed struggle on the basis that peace talks are useless.

The UN Security Council added its weight to the debate on Monday when it demanded urgent efforts to create a separate Palestinian state and achieve an overall peace settlement, but the rebuff from the new Israeli government made clear its disdain for international law: "Israel does not believe that the involvement of the Security Council contributes to the political process in the Middle East," said the ambassador to the United Nations. Arab countries and the international community need to make it clear to Israel that it is wrong.