Solidarity with the Palestinian people

Perth peace activist Joshua Taaffe experienced first hand the 
brutal and violent nature of Israel's occupation forces in 
Palestine when last month he was shot during a raid by Israeli 
troops on the Balatta refugee camp near Nablus. Taken to a 
hospital in Nablus he said he believed that the troops had 
deliberately targeted civilians in the camp.

A peace activist from the US, Mark Turner, was also wounded in 
the raid, part of a bloody weekend in Nablus. One Palestinian man 
was killed, shot in the back, while walking to work.

In the attack on the camp the Israeli troops shot out all the 
streetlights using rubber bullets and put the camp's electricity 
generator out of action.

The local children pelted the Israeli troops with stones and at 
least one Molotov cocktail was thrown.

Joshua and Mark were spotted when the military swept the area 
with searchlights.

It was then that they realised from the noise made by the rounds 
being fired that the troops had reverted to live ammunition.

Joshua and Mark said, "We do try to make our presence known to 
the Israelis so they can't act with impunity". Both intend to 
take part in the International Day of Action on November 10 
against the Israeli occupation.