A young peace activist is putting his life at risk by travelling to the Occupied Territories to act as a human shield in protest at the occupation of its people.

Freelance computer programmer Andy, 25, from Eastbourne - who only wants to be known by his first name - will travel to the Middle East with his Welsh girlfriend Sarah, 24, on July 1 despite the escalation in violence.

In April an Israeli soldier allegedly shot British peace activist Tom Hurndall, 22, in the head as he was escorting scared schoolchildren away from Israeli gunfire.

Photographer Tom, from Tufnell Park, north London, remains brain dead in a coma in an Israeli hospital after he was hit in the Gaza Strip.

With the killing of another peace campaigner, American Rachel Corrie, who was fatally crushed by an Israeli bulldozer, foreign activists fear they are no longer exempt from death or injury.

However, Andy, of Cobbold Avenue, says events have failed to deter him and his girlfriend from working as human shields.

They will join others from the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a Palestinian-led movement fighting to end Israeli occupation and highlight the struggle for Palestinian freedom.

ISM campaigners claim an international presence is needed to support Palestinian non-violent resistance as Palestinian activists who protest alone face harsh punishment.

The couple hope to be able to help Palestinians move around more freely in the Occupied Territories.

Ex-Cavendish School pupil Andy, whose parents are Lebanese, said: "Before the shooting of Tom Hurndall, we had considered ourselves pretty safe as internationals.

"It's definitely a worry for us but we will just have to keep our wits about us. The Palestinian people need our solidarity.

"Our capacity to work in relative safety because of our foreign passports may have diminished considerably in recent months.

"But I don't see how this should turn me and hundreds of others against the idea of trying to help the Palestinian people by directly confronting, through non-violent action, the Israeli occupation.

"If I can show any degree of solidarity with the Palestinian people in their abject suffering then it will all be worthwhile, whatever the risks are."

Andy will keep an online diary during his time in the occupied territories at www.eduvoyage.com/palestine