The main wings at Be'er Sheva house eight men to every cell

This World gained unprecedented and unrestricted access inside two of the country's highest security prisons, Be'er Sheva and Hasheron.

The team talk to both male and female prisoners, as well as their Israeli prison guards.

Locked up together for 24 hours a day, guards and inmates are forced into a complex dialogue unlike any other between Israelis and Palestinians.

The Palestinian prisoners describe themselves as "freedom fighters" and now "prisoners of war", but the Israeli guards regard them as the most dangerous terrorists in their country.

Among the prisoners in Be'er Sheva is Abdullah Barghouti, a man Israeli's regard as their most dangerous prisoner. As the chief bomb maker for the military wing of Hamas, he is currently serving 67 life sentences.

The 61 female prisoners at Hasheron range from failed suicide bombers to those who supplied weapons or prepared explosives. Maintaining a dialogue between these Muslim women and the predominantly male guards creates a unique challenge for both sides.

Side by side

But as well as learning to live with the Israeli administration, the Palestinian prisoners must also find compromises with their fellow inmates.

Members of Fatah, the majority Nationalist Party, must live side by side with militant fundamentalists from Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Outside, these factions are bitterly divided about whether to negotiate with the Israelis at all, but in jail they must present a united front.

In prison, Israelis and Palestinians maintain a dialogue born of necessity. It often falters and frequently breaks down.

But most of the time they do achieve conciliation.

Outside the prison the leaders of both sides try and do the same.

Among the new Palestinian leadership are men who spent time within these very walls, where they learnt the craft of negotiating with the enemy.

Some of Be'er Sheva's current inmates could be the next generation of leaders... if they are ever released.

Inside Israel's Jails was broadcast in the UK on Tuesday, 22 March, 2005 at 2100 GMT on BBC Two.