Analysis: Palestinians' disrupted journeys

Israel has imposed severe restrictions on Palestinian movement in the West Bank and Gaza as part of its efforts to cut down on militant attacks that have been such a feature of the current intifada.

But the vast majority of Palestinians just trying to go about their business see the restrictions as a humiliating collective punishment that fuels their frustration and anger.

The Israeli security regime consists of three main elements:

Permanent checkpoints outside Palestinian towns and at strategic locations
Temporary checkpoints to target specific security threats
Unmanned barricades (of bulldozed earth, boulders or large concrete blocks) on roads leading to Palestinian villages
The net effect of these measures is to prevent traffic originating in the Palestinian-ruled territories - distinguished by green number plates rather than the Israeli yellow ones - from entering Israel or the Israeli-occupied parts of Jerusalem.

Palestinian traffic is also directed away from Jewish settlements in Gaza and the West Bank