Israeli peace activists stand guard to protect Gaza aid convoys
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00:00 At this checkpoint between Israel and the West Bank, several dozen Israeli activists
00:06 have gathered to protect the aid convoys headed for Gaza.
00:10 "The drivers are scared and worried because people are targeting them on the road.
00:16 In Jerusalem, for instance, one driver has been in hospital for two days.
00:20 There were 20 or 30 people here yesterday.
00:22 Two police officers were deployed here as a meaningless gesture.
00:25 They just told people to move.
00:27 If they had wanted to actually stop them, they could have.
00:31 They know how to repress protests, but no, they let them do it."
00:34 These Israeli settlers create a human barricade to prevent the aid lorries from getting through.
00:39 Some have a record of acts of violence that are taken away by the police, while activists
00:43 from the Standing Together movement try to ensure there is a path for the convoys, movements
00:48 with radically different views.
00:50 "Why are you worried that food will arrive for these terrorists?
00:56 We came here today to create a kind of a corridor of dignity so that all the trucks can get
01:03 through and they don't have to face harm.
01:05 So we're here to make sure that the police do their job.
01:09 These are just kids, they're afraid."
01:13 "They were the ones who raped and murdered us on the 7th of October.
01:18 We've come here today to block the aid so it doesn't reach them because we think help
01:22 should go two ways.
01:23 If we give them the humanitarian aid, they should free the hostages."
01:28 In a society still reeling from the 7th of October, these radicalised teenagers enjoy
01:33 some support.
01:34 Pro-peace activists like Alan Lee Green, though, are trying to change Israeli attitudes and
01:39 draw attention to the risk of famine in Gaza.
01:42 "I cannot promise that we will win, but we are doing whatever we can to make sure that
01:47 people have the option to choose the path of ending the occupation, the path of ending
01:54 the war.
01:55 Unless we will be able to present this option, the only way will be the way of the extreme
01:58 government that sends youth to here to block the aid while doing what they're doing in
02:04 Gaza."
02:05 Today, the lorries can continue on their way.
02:08 About 100 kilometres to go before they reach the south of Gaza, where they will be inspected
02:13 by the Israeli army before they finally reach the Palestinian population.