India, June 7 -- A barbed wire fence and a bit of a concrete wall separate the Israelis from the Palestinians. It is upon bridging this gap hinges a solution to one of the world's most intractable challenges, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

From Gilo, the city of Bethlehem is clearly visible. Bethlehem and Beit Jala, two adjacent cities that would be barely at a distance of 3-4 km as the crow flies from the Gilo neighbourhood in the southern part of Jerusalem, better known as East Jerusalem.

On a clear day, it would take a moderately good smartphone camera to zoom in on the activities of the residents in these twin cities. But the actual distance is far greater. It's a distance defined by history and conflict, with a barbed wire fence...