At first glance, Tom Dale and Raphael Cohen seem unlikely bodyguards for a group of Palestinian villagers caught at an Israeli roadblock on a highway between Ramallah and Nablus. Tom, 18, from a small town called Lichfield, near Birmingham in England, has just finished school and is taking a break before starting university. Raphael, 37, recently worked as a computer programmer in south London.

Yet both yesterday experienced first-hand what it is like for Palestinian people desperately trying to go about their daily business under an Israeli occupation that has been both violent and all-consuming during their lifetimes.

"I started to hear stories about how bad the situation is here and wanted to come and see for myself and try to do something about it," said Tom, who volunteers with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM and GIPP) and is planning to stay in the Occupied Palestinian Territories for at least a month.

"Being from a Jewish background, I wanted to find out more about the situation here and try to get the real story out to a Jewish audience in the UK," said Raphael, also an ISM volunteer, who has worked as a journalist in the past. "The mainstream media in the UK simply doesn't give an accurate picture of the effect that the Israeli occupation is having on ordinary Palestinians."

The two volunteers, part of a group of 10 international volunteers, were attempting to escort farmers and their families in Turmusayya to harvest their olives when they encountered an Israeli army jeep blocking their path.

"We approached the soldiers and politely asked if we could pass, as it is crucial for the farmers to harvest their olives at this point during the season," said Raphael. "We were aggressively told that they were given orders to let no Palestinians pass - and that this was a punishment for the 'suicide bombing' that had taken place the previous day."

According to Tom and Raphael, the soldiers then went to their jeeps and started to fit what looked like silencers on their guns.

"Besides the fact that such collective punishment is completely against international law, no one in this area had the slightest connection to the bombing of the bus," said Tom. "But the soldiers seemed to feel that it was their job to not only stop the farmers from accessing their fields, but to completely remove Palestinians from the entire area."

According to the volunteers, one soldier actually questioned their right to be there, saying aggressively, "The last time I checked, this was my country - not yours."

What happened next frightened both Tom and Raphael. According to the pair, the army jeep was driven aggressively towards them, in an attempt to force the Palestinian families, who were waiting nervously in the background, to flee back towards their village.

"We had to physically stop the jeep from rushing towards the Palestinian families -- who had every reason to be frightened, as they had been subjected to such attacks in the past," said Tom. "At one point, the jeep was revving and pushing against the front of our legs."

After several hours of negotiation, a small group of farmers, along with Tom, Raphael and one other international volunteer, were allowed through to collect other villagers who had managed to make it to the fields before the roadblock had been set up. The farmers managed to squeeze in a couple of hours of harvesting, but it was not nearly enough.

"Although we managed a minor triumph, Palestinian farmers rely in their entire harvest to survive the year - and they need to tend to their trees to ensure a healthy harvest for next year," said Raphael. "Israeli army roadblocks and intimidation, combined with violent -- sometimes deadly - attacks by nearby Israeli settlers are creating a lethal cocktail for these people struggling to feed their families."

"We desperately need more international volunteers to be truly effective," said Raphael. "We urge anyone who is concerned with what they are hearing to come and join us in the protection of the Palestinian people - what we are doing does have an impact and has the potential to make a huge difference in the lives of ordinary Palestinians."

To find out more about how you can help to protect the Palestinian people on the ground, please visit www.palsolidarity.org or call Grassroots Protection for the Palestinian People (GIPP) on tel: +972 2 296 3847 or mobile: +972 50 557 385.

For more information contact: The Palestine Monitor
+972 (0)2 298 5372 or +972 (0)59 387 087
www.palestinemonitor.org