A Bradford woman is preparing to fly to war-torn Palestinian areas of Israel in a bid to highlight the plight of its people.

Jane Gregory, who has lived in Manningham for five years, will be joining other members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) for a four-week stint.

She is the co-ordinator at Bradford Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Survivors Service and a member of the community cohesion task group for Bradford district.

The ISM is a Palestinian-led movement of Palestinian and international activists which aims to raise awareness of the struggle for Palestinian freedom and bring an end to Israeli occupation by using non-violent methods of resistance to challenge Israeli occupation forces and policies

The dangers facing ISM volunteers has been highlighted by the recent death of British photographer Tom Hurndall, who was shot in the head by an Israeli soldier while shepherding young children out of the line of fire.

Miss Gregory said her family was concerned about her safety but supportive of her decision.

Volunteers undertake non-violent resistance, which means taking part in peace rallies or staying with Palestinian families to focus media attention on their situation.

Miss Gregory said: "I want to point out that I am 40 years old, have a sensible job and am very much connected to the activities of the city."

She said: "I am concerned about Bradford and the people of Bradford. I put time and effort into the city.

"The people who join ISM and are concerned about things that are happening far away are also very concerned about justice within their own cities and communities."

She said she was a sensible person and well-informed about the situation and fully intended to return to her job

She believes Britain has a responsibility for the future of Palestinian people because of its role in helping to set up a state of Israel in 1948, when Palestinian people had to leave their homes.

Carl Arrindell, spokesman for Tom Hurndall's family, said the job ISM volunteers did was to be admired and applauded. He stressed that ISM were not against Jews or Israel, adding that some of the founding members of the group were Jewish.