TWO Newport women are heading to one of the most divided places on earth today.

Pippa Bartolotti, from Malpas, Newport, and deputy leader of the Wales Green Party, and Joyce Giblin, of Bassaleg Road, are joining people from more than 15 countries for a week-long visit to the West Bank.

The pair will joint people from more than 15 countries in the strife-torn territory, which is occupied by Israel and together with Gaza forms Palestine, as they take part in a programme of peace building across the region.

The West Bank is the site of a wall that divides much of the area in two and the building of Israeli settlements. The Malpas women will be there for the anniversary of a ruling by the United Nations-backed International Court of Justice on July 9, 2004, which said the wall and settlements were both illegal.

Ms Bartolotti, who previously lived in Israel for seven years, said: “We will be hopefully working with Israelis as well – it’s a bridge-building exercise.”