Welsh Plaid Cymru members call for boycott of 'Israel' over Gaza war
4 Min Read
Plaid Cymru members believe an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of Israeli captives, and the end of the occupation of Palestine are all necessary.
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Palestinains carry their belongings as they flee areas north of Gaza City in northern Gaza on October 12, 2024. (AFP)
The Welsh National Party has labeled the Israeli occupation an "apartheid regime: and accused it of "genocide, ethnic cleansing, and war crimes."
During its fall conference in Cardiff on Saturday the party's four MPs urged for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador from the UK until the Israeli government "ends its apartheid and illegal actions (in Gaza)" and for the government to prohibit military sales to "Israel."
Ben Lake, MP for Ceredigion Preseli, proposed the resolution, which was unanimously endorsed, stating that the war required an urgent political settlement, including the acknowledgment of a Palestinian state.
Lake expressed that "If we want to see a safer world, then international law needs to be respected.”
According to the motion, Plaid members believe an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of Israeli captives, and the end of the occupation of Palestine are all necessary.
It urges the UK to assist the International Criminal Court's investigation into suspected war crimes perpetrated by both the Palestinian resistance, Hamas, and the Israeli occupation government.
The motion also urges all Plaid Cymru members, as well as Welsh national athletic and cultural organizations, to endorse an "economic and cultural boycott" of "Israel."
Before voting on the proposal, the conference heard from Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian senior ambassador to the UK, who stated that "Israel" must be "compelled" to respect its international commitments.
Zomlot expressed that the UK government must be reminded constantly of its obligation under UK domestic law and international law, describing that "These obligations are clear, there must be an immediate ceasefire that should lead to an end to Israel’s presence in occupied territory in one year."
If "Israel" ignores global will as it has continued to do so, it must be compelled to comply.
Zomlot urges UK to take a stand against 'Israel'
On Friday, Zomlot said the Labour administration in the UK must abandon its half-hearted half-measures toward "Israel",
Speaking at a briefing to commemorate the war on Gaza he stated that "Israel's" lack of accountability for its conduct threatens to undermine the whole globe, and nations, such as the United Kingdom, which is known for its support of international humanitarian law, must go further. He advocated for a complete arms embargo, the recognition of a Palestinian state, and economic sanctions to "dismantle the apparatus of illegal settlements in the West Bank."
According to Zomlot, the "unconditional support to Israel" given by the US and Western Europe is pushing the occupation and the world "off a cliff."
He blasted the lack of accountability, citing that "the lesson for everyone else will be clear: international law and world laws based on these prohibitions on war crimes and atrocities, as well as the hunger that has killed 2.3 million people, are useless until we put a stop to it in Gaza."
The ambassador also stated that such half-measures would not persuade "Israel" to accept the UN ceasefire resolution and the implementation of the International Court of Justice's verdicts and questioned why the UK had abstained at the UN Security Council on the execution of an ICJ order instructing "Israel" to leave the occupied areas within a year, pointing out that the UK had previously said that it agreed with the ICJ's view.
According to Zomlot, the UK's limited arms embargo was ineffective, pointing to the fact that the UK had previously divulged it would acknowledge Palestine when it is most effective, and he could not conceive of a better time than now.
He reiterated that the Palestinian will was "to live in peace and dignity just like everyone else, it’s as simple and human as that," questioning what "Israel's" endgame was, explaining that it was embroiled in a war not to defend itself but rather to "defend its illegal occupation, and this includes a war on demolishing the entire global rules-based order."
"Israel’s strategic outlook is entirely dominated by the use of sheer military power to impose its will, rather than the compromises to reach any agreement," Zomlot explained.
