Palestinians would have been pleasantly surprised if, when US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice came to Ramallah, her convoy had taken the same route through the Kalandiya checkpoint that thousands of Palestinians going to Ramallah take daily. This checkpoint has become the humiliating symbol of what the continued Israeli occupation is all about.

Checkpoints between Palestinian cities (and not just between Palestine and Israel) were erected shortly after the eruption of the second intifada. All international peace agreements, including the one accepted by all sides – the road map – call on Israel to remove the tens of checkpoints and return the Israeli army to the pre-October 2000 positions.

The effects of the checkpoints have been disastrous. They have stifled economic relations as goods and people are not able to move between Palestinian cities. Ironically, the only goods easily allowed into Palestinian cities are Israeli, giving them a huge advantage at the expense of local products and services.

In addition to its negative effects on the economy, the checkpoints have had a huge negative effect on the people's psyche. Many Palestinians comment that while they may not want to travel to other cities, the fact that they cannot makes them feel claustrophobic.

Perhaps the best indication of the wide-ranging negative effects of the checkpoints can be found in the daily reports of Machsom Watch. These reports show that basic humiliations and restriction of movement are arbitrary, often dependent on the mood of a particular soldier or officer rather than on any genuine security need.

THE VARIETY of people of all ages, backgrounds, professions and economic status involved reinforces the feeling among Palestinians as well as among legal experts that these travel restrictions between Palestinian cities constitute a violation of international law. The fourth Geneva Convention clearly defines such actions as a collective punishment prohibited by international humanitarian law.

The difficulties of transportation have forced the Palestinian telephone carrier PalTel to make all Palestinian areas one dialing zone. In an ad played on radio and television, a mother calls her two daughters in Nablus and in Gaza and talks for a long time telling them not to worry because all the calls have become local.

Six months after the election of Mahmoud Abbas, and after a long and continuous period of relative quiet from the Palestinian factions, there are no more excuses for Israel to keep these humiliating checkpoints that have restricted movement between Palestinian cities for four years. These are clearly not security motivated but, rather, politically related. The continuation of the practice of using an entire people as hostages should not be tolerated.

The Sharon government, engulfed in internal political conflict over the withdrawal from Gaza, is hoping to trade the relaxation of these clearly not security-related restrictions for political results from a weakened Palestinian partner.

Rice's visit to Israel and Palestine will likely not include the many checkpoints that are checkering the Palestinian areas and choking the possibilities for peace. With the continuation of these restrictions and unnecessary checkpoints, the seeds of hate and anger that have been planted during the past four years will mature into violent reactions.

Talk of a third Palestinian intifada is getting more serious consideration not only by politicians but in the sitting rooms of most Palestinians.