The effects of 40 years without a final settlement since the 1967 war, are all around. The UN is feeding 1.5 million Paletinians. The Israelis are subject to regular mortar fire from Gaza and are close to completing a wall, higher and longer than the Berlin Wall, to encircle the West Bank.
I was on a Parliamentary delegation, so met Palestinian leaders, including the Prime Minister from the Fatah party of President Abbas. We also met an MP from the extreme Islamist party Hamas, one of the few not in jail.
In Gaza, where Hamas seized control in June, 1.2 million Palestinians live in what amounts to a refugee camp. The Israelis have imposed a total clampdown on movements in and out. Yet the day before I went to Gaza, 67 Israeli soldiers were wounded by a Kassam home-made rocket fired from Gaza.
The Palestinians need progress towards a settlement. The Israelis doubt the Palestinians can keep their side of any bargain, particularly over security.
Into this heady cocktail has dropped Tony Blair, seeking to help both sides reach a stepping stone on the way to a final settlement. Our delegation met him briefly last Thursday. Like us he was on a steep learning curve. Unlike us he is not visiting Gaza. Nor is he meeting Hamas, since he would lose credibility with the US, EU and Israelis.
Presidents Olmert of Israel and Abbas of the Palestinian Authority are meeting face-to-face to try to identify practical measures of substantive progress which can be presented to the Quartet meetings in the US in November and be supported by a donor's conference in December.
Each have their own domestic political reasons to make progress. Let us all hope they have the courage to move forward and not retreat further into creating a modern day apartheid.
