15th April, 2003

INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT ACTIVISTS MEET FOREIGN OFFICE TO
DEMAND
FULL INQUIRY INTO GAZA SHOOTING OF TOM HURNDALL

Following the shooting of Tom Hurndall in Rafah on Friday, ISM
activists
met with the Foreign Office at 1pm today (Tuesday15th April). We urged
for
a full
inquiry into the shooting and demanded that the Foreign Office assume
their

full
responsibilities towards British Citizens in the Occupied Territories
by
condemning all instances of injury to British citizens by Israeli
soldiers
and settlers.

Last Friday Tom Hurndall, an unarmed British peace activist in Gaza,
was
shot in the head by an Israeli sniper as he attempted to escort three
children to
safety. He is currently on life-support in a coma and is believed to
have
suffered
severe brain damage.

Prior to this a number of British peace activists and humanitarian
workers have been injured by Israeli troops and settlers, and have
contacted the Foreign Office. In April 2002 alone, four Britons from
ISM
were injured by shrapnel in Bethlehem after being fired upon by
soldiers
in an Israeli tank. In November 2002, Iain Hook, a British UN
volunteer,
was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers in Jenin. However none of
these
instances
have yet resulted in a formal condemnation by the Foreign Office to
the Israeli government.

The Foreign Office has been contacted several times to ask that
warnings be
given to travellers concerning danger from Israeli soldiers and
settlers,
but to date
there has been no such recognition. The FO
website implies that the only threat to British citizens is from
Palestinian
terrorism and violent incidents at checkpoints but this does not give
fair
warning of the threat from soldiers and settlers. We consider that
there is
direct and deliberate violence being perpetrated against international
peace
activists. This is a deliberate policy on the part of some military
units,
and certainly on the part of the settlers, to deter (scare off)
internationals from witnessing crimes against Palestinians in the
occupied
territories.


ISM activists meeting with the Foreign Office officials today
demanded:

* A full investigation into the shooting of Tom Hurndall

- The FO officials stated that they would engage in any enquiry
requested
by
Tom's parents

* Fair recognition of the dangers faced by British travellers from the
Israeli military and settlers

- The FO officials agreed to consider changing the warnings they
presently
issue
to travellers, and we await action on this

* Condemnation of the levels of violence that Israeli soldiers and
settlers

are
directing at British nationals in the West Bank and Gaza

- We offered to prepare a dossier of cases for the Foreign Office to
investigate and reach a judgement


For more details please contact:

Leonie Nimmo 07732 087 546
Karen Blake email:  117502@soas.ac.uk
Joy Green 07734 050 721
Mortaza Sahibzada 07946 351 319, email:  m.sahibzada@imperial.ac.uk


Notes to Editors

1. The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) is an international
citizen's peace-making campaign formed in August 2001, using the
proactive tactics of non-violent direct action epitomised by Gandhi,
Archbishop Tutu and Dr. Martin Luther King. ISM activists bear witness
to
the terrible conditions under which Palestinians live because of the
Occupation, and attempt to protect them from physical violence from
Israeli
soldiers and settlers. We work under the leadership of Palestinian
peace
activists, supporting them in their non-violent resistance to the
Occupation, and lending support to Israeli and other peace activist
groups.
www.palsolidarity.org

2. ISM is not hierarchical, it is a movement of individuals acting on
their
own conscience. ISM in the UK cannot be held solely responsible for
disseminating any information that the Foreign Office give us. In the
case
of Tom Hurndall, like most British activists with ISM, we did not meet
him
and we would thus not have been able to offer him any advice before he
left
the
UK (volunteers rceive full ISM training in Palestine on arrival).
Nevertheless the FO officials asked us to pass on the advice that
British
nationals are strongly advised not to travel to West Bank/Gaza and that
those who do travel should register with the British consulate in
Jerusalem
and take out travel insurance. (Note: ISM does advise volunteers to
register

with their consulates on arrival). The FO informed us of the
limitations to
their consular service in the West Bank and Gaza.