At the Annapolis peace talks last year Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also promised Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, or Abu Mazen as he is better known, that the number of roadblocks in the West Bank would be significantly reduced.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) decided to carefully examine the Israeli claim and came up with some surprising findings.

It found that only 44 roadblocks had been removed, well short of the claimed 61. Six more of the roadblocks on Barak's list have been left in place. And the remaining 11 simply never existed.

A close examination of the 44 roadblocks that existed and were removed reveals that most of them had no implications whatsoever for Palestinians' freedom of movement.

Only five of these 44 obstacles were classified by the U.N. as "significant" for Palestinians living in the area. The remaining obstacles were classified as of "little," "no," or "questionable" significance, often noting that there were other major roadblocks nearby.

OCHA further explained that some of the checkpoints had already been abandoned years ago while others had been erected by Israeli Defense Forces that day, only to be removed later the same day while still counted in the tally of checkpoints allegedly removed.

According to the humanitarian organization some of the roadblocks removed were also situated in the middle of fields and therefore had little impact on movement and access restrictions which have crippled the Palestinian economy and decimated the day to day life of the inhabitants of the West Bank.

The World Bank recently released a report stating that Israel's closure system was a leading cause for the Palestinians' economic woes and that if there was no ease on these restrictions the Palestinian economy would continue to rapidly decline despite the $7.4 billion in aid pledged at the international donor's conference in Paris at the beginning of the year.

In addition to the damage that these restrictions cause to the economy they have also affected the ability of Palestinians to receive medical treatment, as ambulances have often been delayed for hours at checkpoints or been forced to turn back even with critically ill patients.

Women have been forced to give birth at checkpoints while other patients have died at the roadblocks.

U.N. staff have also complained of being unnecessarily delayed and having their cars searched in contravention of international law and U.N. agreements, of which Israel is a signatory.

The restrictions on social activities and freedom of worship have also been negatively impacted as most West Bankers are refused the permits they need to access holy sites in Jerusalem.

The Israelis claim that these roadblocks and restrictions are necessary for their security. Critics argue that they constitute collective punishment on the Palestinian population and are aimed primarily at protecting Israeli settlers and settlements in the Palestinian territories.

Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian peace negotiator stated, "This is destroying the livelihoods of Palestinians, the economy, agriculture, education and health situation."

An annual report to the U.N. human rights committee by the ex-special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, John Dugard, stated that a picture was emerging of a West Bank divided into three areas – North, Central and South.

"Movement is easier inside these areas, but travel between them is hampered by a combination of checkpoints and other physical obstacles," the report said.

It said the roadblocks had helped create a system of roads limited to Israeli use, while funneling Palestinian motorists onto alternative routes where movement is restricted.

"The new physical obstacles have further limited access to land, markets, services and social relations," added the report.

It cited a new permit system limiting Palestinian access to the West Bank's Jordan Valley, where many farmers own land. Farmers are struggling to reach their fields and ship their produce to markets, while rural communities have been isolated from cities because of the travel difficulties.

It would appear that treatment at checkpoints is also at the whim of the soldiers manning them. One young Palestinian employed at a financial institution in Ramallah, the business capital of the West Bank, explained that he was from the Tulkarm refugee camp in the northern West Bank.

When asked why he is traveling to Ramallah, the young man explains that he is employed there and shows them his employee identity card. Sometimes he is let through, sometimes they delay him for hours, and at other times he is refused permission to pass.

The Israelis have no security issues with the man, who spoke on condition of anonymity, but because of their arbitrary treatment he has been forced to rent an apartment in Ramallah during the week and travel back to Tulkarm refugee camp on the weekends to see his family which relies on his income for their survival.