A FORMER reporter for the Gazette who lives in Dursley travelled to Palestine and was shocked at the reality of the country’s ongoing troubles with neighbouring Israel.

Tim Lezard of Silver Street embarked on the trip with the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign and journeyed through Jericho, Bethlehem and Hebron among other areas.

Despite a pre-existing interest in the struggles and conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, Tim said he was shocked to find the situation much worse than he had imagined.

“You think you know what it’s like over there but I never realised just how systematic the segregation is – people have said that it is worse than apartheid,” said the dad of two.

“They move hundreds of Israeli settlers into Palestinian areas and the hope is that they are intimidated to the point they move out.

“This obviously creates a strong feeling of resentment among the Palestinian people who are, in our experience, very humble, kind and generous.”

In one defining moment of the visit, Tim and others witnessed a 10-year-old child fling an active canister of tear gas back at the soldier who had fired it.

“We were in an office when we heard a noise and looked out the window to see soldiers firing their tear gas at a group of young children," he said.

“Then, one of the kids, instead of running away, ran up to the canister which was spewing gas and tossed it back towards the soldiers.

“What kind of culture have we created there where it’s completely normal for a child to see something like a tear gas canister, and for their response to be to move towards it?

“Some of the gas got into the building we were in and our eyes were streaming and throats irritated, so it is a memory that stands out.”

Tim described the scenes he witnessed in Hebron, where 400 Israeli settlers had moved in and pressure was mounting on the Palestinians.

“They think it’s their land and they have a right to be there because it’s in the Bible. The Palestinians just keep going; there’s resentment but they don’t have any power,” he said.

Tim also met several Palestinian MPs during the trip as well as members of the United Nations.

In addition to working for the Gazette, Tim also served as the president of the National Union of Journalists and, more recently, worked with David Drew on his campaign for re-election as Stroud MP.