The last two years have been the most brutal in the entire thirty-six year history of Israel's military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip; indeed the most violent since the creation of Israel itself. The International Solidarity Movement (ISM), coordinating international volunteers, was founded as peaceful resistance to that violence. Its highly visible actions, which have included breaking the sieges in Ramallah and Bethlehem, as well as saving countless lives, have shone a spotlight on Israel's occupation. Outlawed in Israel and nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, the ISM has threatened the governing coalition with fears that Israeli opinion might at last be turning against them. In showing what risks Palestinians take, ISM volunteers have also tragically been targeted. The death of Rachel Corrie and critical Injury of Tom Hurndall, as well as the shooting of Kate Edwards, Caoimhe Butterley, Brian Avery have never been fully explained; covered up in the US and UK, and brushed aside in Israel - an unfortunate consequence of Israel's 'war on terror'.
Collecting previously published news articles on the movement, giving accounts drawn from web-logs and diaries as they happened and including last writings of the murdered American Rachel Corrie and contributions from the Hurndall family, Peace Under Fire -the story of first two years of the International Solidarity Movement - reveals the real horror of life under occupation, and describes the first signs of a new wave of international solidarity.