Over the last few years, well 11 to be exact, I have been lucky enough to travel to many countries through work commitments or otherwise.

In the great scheme of things I still have managed to travel to less than 10% of countries on earth but ask any of my friends and colleagues and they often joke that I'm never in the country. That's not quite true, in fact completely untrue, but still I often joke with those I play football with that 'I won't be here next week as I'm away on 'International Duty''.

Recently I was on 'International Duty' when I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to travel to the West Bank. My reasons for travelling were many – I was invited, I had always wanted to go, the weather is better (most of the time), I have friends there, I was scheduled to make a couple of presentations on the peace process here but most of all I was challenged to go! Having already been to Israel on eight different occasions (this wasn't a deliberate policy, it had just worked out that way) I was given a hard time for never having set foot in the territories. So as someone who loves a challenge it was no surprise that I was on 'International Duty' again at the end of October.

I'm not the first western person to go to the West Bank nor will I be the last. On the contrary, there are many westerners in the West Bank. I met at least half a dozen on my first night in Ramallah. But even with a strong presence of westerners, many there to help with humanitarian programmes, it's not very often that the plight of the Palestinians makes the news headlines these days. That's why I've taken some time to write this article.

I spent six days in total in the West Bank, based in Ramallah. During my time there I met with representatives from a range of different organisations offering young people alternatives to becoming involved in the conflict; made two presentations (Northern Ireland – From No to Yes: Lessons for Israel and Palestine) at Birzet University and International Academy of Arts Palestine; travelled to a number of different sites including visits to Bethlehem, Hebron and Jericho; completed a number of 'obligatory socialising' events; caught up with some friends; and met with and discussed the situation with ordinary Palestinians.

I had some interesting moments, such as being picked up at the airport by a guy called Arafat, not getting into a hotel disco because a gas bomb had just gone off, sharing a dance floor in Bethlehem with a cross-dressing transvestite, witnessing a Greek Orthodox priest trying to stop Russian Pilgrims praying at the birthplace of Jesus in the Church of the Nativity, being scared stiff as I took my first cable car ride up to Temptation Mountain, a chance meeting with the Minister of Health in a local bar, being escorted by Israeli security through Passport Control on my way home, and - would you believe it - meeting an Irish guy on my first night who was from Galway but born in Derry!

There are many enduring images - The Wall, settlements, checkpoints, security, poverty, disparity of wealth, rubbish, destruction, empty derelict buildings, lots of really old cars, awful roads, roads with no road markings, streets with no street names, green number plates, groups of young men hanging endlessly around streets corners, always having to carry your passport, speed ramps on main roads, lively social scene, tasty Palestinian beer, some great scenery but most of all the incredible resolve of the Palestinian people who eke out some kind of normal existence under very trying circumstances. I say very trying but honestly it's much worse than this because, when you compare and contrast our everyday existence here with that in the West Bank, it really does make you appreciate the life we have.

The joy of travel

For example, I can move about the whole of this island freely knowing that the road that was there yesterday will also be there tomorrow or at the very least it hasn't been blocked off, bulldozed, dug up, cordoned off indefinitely or has become the property of a small community overnight and I'm no longer allowed to travel on it.

If I want to go to Cork, I know I don't have to concern myself with checkpoints or having to carry a passport or make sure I have the correct passes to travel through three different 'zones'. Or whether or not I'll be held up by security for maybe hours or days because my pass has then become invalid or I look suspicious. If I want to travel by taxi to Dublin airport I don't have to concoct a story that the taxi man picked me up in Monaghan rather than Derry just to save him the trouble and hassle of explaining why he was in Derry in the first place.

Travelling around the West Bank is uncompromising. To ensure you can travel from one significant place to the other - and by significant I mean perhaps travelling from Derry to Omagh or Coleraine - you have to have the right passes, you have to have your ID, you have to negotiate long and timely queues at checkpoints, often with very young soldiers who it seems are often unable to converse with the local population.

You have to take alternative routes because the road normally travelled has been secured, blocked off, dug up or reserved for those travelling in and out of settlements.

A journey that might have once taken 30 minutes suddenly turns into 90. If you're lucky enough to find work, (the unemployment rate in the West Bank is 60%) and let's say you work in Israel, where many Palestinians travel everyday, you must of course ensure you have all the necessary documents, not to mention endure the obligatory search of your vehicle. It's reminiscent of the 70's and 80's in Northern Ireland but there is a depressing intensity about it, an intensity that is magnified many times. You actually know which vehicles are allowed to travel into Israel – they all have green number plates. It's the equivalent of saying you can only drive into the Republic if you have a 'Free State' registration.

The Wall

The most enduring image I will have of my time in the West Bank is that of 'The Wall' – 'The Wall', which was built by Israel to 'stop suicide bombers', is as ugly, depressing and as gruesome as it gets! It is a fence in some parts of the West Bank but these parts are normally buffered with internal roads, trenches and electrified wire. It's hard to imagine how this creation carves up the land in the way it does (unless you see it for yourself) but it really does snake its way through large chunks of the West Bank. It might help Israelis feel more secure but it also serves to isolate, humiliate and belittle
Palestinians as it carves up the land in a very undignified manner.

The building of the wall also took land already inside the West Bank (not previously under Israeli control) but worse than this (in my humble opinion) is the way that in some towns and villages the wall was literally erected along some streets, effectively cutting neighbours off from one another. The wall is as depressing as it is as hard to find words to describe how it looks and the impact it has on daily life. It actually makes the peace walls in Derry and Belfast look quite attractive.

Another enduring image is that of settlements, occupied by Israelis who believe it is their God-given right to be there. There are hundreds of these dotted all over the West Bank ranging in size from a population of zero to a quarter of a million people. Yes, you read that last bit correctly. There is one settlement that I was amazed to learn that actually no-one lives in yet it is secured and maintained by the Israel.

Whilst the vast majority of settlements are small in size, maybe only a few thousand, there are a number of major settlements with populations the size of some cities in Ireland. In fact, some are actually bigger than the population of most cities in Ireland with the exception of Belfast and Dublin. The number of settlements and their populations is not the bit which actually unnerved me, but rather the way that many if not almost all settlements are strategically located on top of hills overlooking Palestinian towns and villages.

All of the settlements are fortified and secured by Israeli Forces.

Many of the roads in and out of them are accessible only to settlers, which in effect means that many parts of the West Bank are dissected and off-limits to Palestinians. Some 'settler roads' have recently been constructed over Palestinian roads so as to avoid contact and therefore minimise the threat from Palestinians. This essentially has created a form of modern-day apartheid.

One of the distinctive features about settlements is how well they are kept. Of course I didn't see all of them when I was there but of those that I did see, they are well constructed, nicely designed, seemingly well-serviced and roads in and out of them and the land that immediately surrounds them is in complete contrast to some of the Palestinian towns and villages we passed through that are 'next door' or run alongside the settlements.

There is one town we passed through on route to Bethlehem, (a journey that was already diverted because of The Wall) that is literally 200m from a settlement – the difference is amazing. The settlement has nice neat roads, landscaped, ample security and well designed, attractive houses. Only one word sprung to mind to describe the Palestinian town – a dump! Israel has responsibility for the upkeep and maintenance of the town but clearly resources are channeled 200m down the road.

Power struggle

The situation in the West Bank right now is also made worse by the internal struggle for power between Palestinians. To put things in context, it's important to get a handle on the complexity of the situation as it is now. So here's a brief summary.

The West Bank is run by Fatah (the political wing of the PLO-Palestinian Liberation Organisation) leader. This was, of course,Yasser Arafat until his death in 2003, and it's now Mahmoud Abas (also known as Abu Mazen). Gaza is run by Hamas who (even if the population felt somewhat compelled to vote for them) were democratically elected in 2005. However, Hamas doesn't recognise Israel and they themselves are accorded the status of a 'terrorist organisation' and therefore the legitimacy of its election win is not recognised by western governments.

Ironically it was the same western governments who compelled Palestinians to go to the polls. The idea was to get Abas re-elected so as to restore the more moderate Fatah to power in Gaza in order to give Israel and the West someone they could negotiate with. But of course this plan backfired and now they choose not to recognise the election result as legitimate. Talk about having egg on your face! The result led to growing tensions between Fatah and Hamas and in the summer of 2006 Hamas ran Fatah out of Gaza and Fatah (not to be outdone) returned the favour, expelling Hamas from the West Bank.

Consider this akin to a battle for the 'Heart of Nationalism' with SDLP and Sinn Fein supporters 'knocking lumps outta each other' (only rather with bombs and bullets) and the result being that Durkan rules Derry and Mc Guinness rules Tyrone! This might be a light-hearted way to look at it but take the previous combined paramilitary feuds here (both Republican and Loyalist), multiply them many times, have it out in broad daylight with no quarter given and you begin to get a picture of a serious internal struggle for power.

Once the Palestinian people had a 'common enemy' in Israel but Palestinians have now turned in on themselves. This actually gives Israel reason to continue to implement many of the measures already in place, not to mention the introduction of others. Essentially it's a policy of 'get your own house in order first'. Until Palestinians do, it's going to be very hard to convince the outside world that they are serious contenders in negotiations. This, however, means (and is normally the case in any conflict) that the main losers are ordinary everyday Palestinians who suffer the most.

Terrible situation

I'm always acutely aware of the danger of getting drawn into the propaganda battle between Israelis and Palestinians - I have many Israeli friends who I cherish dearly. But to put it bluntly the situation in the West Bank is dire. It's dire in the West Bank and it's even worse in Gaza. To allow the status to remain as it is simply unjust, unjustifiable and indefensible!

Having been to Israel on many occasions, life goes on as well – at the best of times and even at the worst of times. It's like that in the Middle East – the people, be they Israeli, Palestinian or even Lebanese for example, develop a huge resolve to survive. I know from some Lebanese friends that during the last war with Israel, while bombs were reigning down on Beirut, people were dancing the night away in underground discos. When bus bombs were going off in Israel people still went about their business as normal.

The situation is reminiscent of Northern Ireland when in days gone by we just got on with it because there was nothing else to do but just get on with it. But what is as unnerving for me is (having heard about and now seen at first hand the situation on the West Bank) that Israel can sit by and let the situation deteriorate even further. It's the equivalent of all of the population in Derry being fully aware of horrendous social, political and economic conditions in Donegal but doing nothing to help resolve it.

What struck me the most about Palestinians is the strength of their resolve. They live in very difficult circumstances, many in intolerable conditions. The lack of infrastructure in the West Bank means that many of the services we take for granted don't exist. Imagine living in an environment where disposal of rubbish is your own responsibility, where letters aren't delivered to your door but rather to a PO Box, where many buildings lie empty because there isn't the money to finish them or because people had to leave the West Bank, where many roads are in dire condition, where there are no street names (finding your way about is determined by markers, i.e., 'behind the Ministry of Justice', 'near the Grand Park Hotel', etc, etc), where groups of young men stand about street corners for large parts of the day because there is no work to go to, where income is often dependent on handouts, donations and the black market.

But also imagine a proud people who get on with their life, who smile a lot, who laugh and dance, who make do with what they've got, who are determined to resist Israeli occupation, who welcome you into your home, who are well educated.

Israel has the cards

I appreciate that the Israeli/Palestinian situation is a complex muddle, far more complex and difficult to resolve than ours ever was or might have ever been. But if peace is ever to break out in the Middle East it starts here and hard decisions need to be taken.

Palestinians, of course, need to resolve their internal divisions and take the step away from violence to political means if they are ever to win the propaganda battle with the west. However, Israel ultimately has the power, is in the ascendancy and therefore needs to take the lead in this situation. A commitment to creating a situation where Palestinians feel they are treated with fairness, have access to justice, share equality whilst being able to maintain dignity and integrity, would be a bloody good start.