Protest planned in Haverfordwest on Saturday demanding Tory Stephen Crabb back ceasefire in Gaza.
Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, Jo Stevens, also faces action from local constituents calling for an immediate end to the bombing.
Cardiff Palestine protest going ahead on Saturday, whilst coaches for major London protest are fully booked.
SC Cook. Cover image by Ka Long Tung
Pressure is growing on Welsh politicians to support calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, after thousands have taken to the streets in recent weeks over the issue.
On Wednesday, the effects of the movement were seen when the Welsh Parliament (Senedd) took the unusual step of calling for an end to the Israeli bombing of Gaza, which has already left more than 10,800 Palestinians dead. A similar vote is now expected in the Scottish Parliament.
Much of the attention has focussed on Labour who control the Welsh Government and whose UK leader, Keir Starmer, has backed Israel cutting off food, fuel and water to 2.2million people living in Gaza.
But actions are also planned against Tory MPs whose government in Westminster has not only given Israel its full backing but has also demonised protesters in Britain.
On Saturday at 2pm in Castle Square, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, a protest called by Stop the War Coalition Pembrokeshire, Solidarity with Palestine Pembrokeshire and the Palestinian Refugee Project is scheduled to take place.
It will be followed by a peaceful march to Stephen Crabb MP’s office, where a vigil will be held aiming to draw attention to the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Weekly vigils have also taken place in the town over the past month.
Aimed at focusing on the 4,000+ children who have been tragically killed in Gaza in the last month, organisers have invited attendees to bring children’s dolls, old shoes, footballs, toy cars and baby grows.
Similar actions were also seen at the lobby of The Senedd in Cardiff on Wednesday, where the names and photos of children killed by the Israeli military were displayed next to bundled sheets stained red, to represent the images of dead Palestinian children which have spread across social media.
Organisers of the Haverfordwest protest say they not only want MPs and the UK government to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, but also to urge Israel to lift the siege that has deprived the people of Gaza of essential resources such as medical supplies, food, electricity, and water.
Sajida Madni, representing the local mosque, said that it was important that protests went ahead this weekend, “There is a call from the government to ban these protests on Armistice Day. Those who laid down their lives for our freedom and democracy during the wars would want us to stand up for innocent civilians caught in this relentless assault on Gaza. We believe that there is nothing more fitting on Armistice Day than to advocate for an armistice!”
Gavin Sharp, Pembrokeshire branch secretary of the National Education Union (NEU) who are supporting the protest, said people were “distressed and alarmed by the rising death toll of Palestinian civilians, particularly children, caused by Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza.”
In Cardiff, the shadow Welsh Secretary Labour MP Jo Stevens is also coming under significant pressure from her constituents, who for two weeks have demonstrated outside her constituency office in the Roath area of the capital.
The protests have been made up of locals coming together, including many families and members of the Muslim community who feel completely failed by a Labour party who have shown complete disregard for Palestinian lives.
Both the Tories and Labour face their own problems due to their stance on the situation in Gaza, which is worsening by the day as Israel continues to use powerful explosives on residential areas, hospitals, religious buildings and schools. Hospitals are also running out of fuel whilst paramedics are unable to reach some people due to the threat of being killed by Israeli forces themselves. Hunger is also taking over the population of Gaza.
Against this backdrop the Palestine movement has grown exponentially over the past month, making significant strides into mainstream politics.
Both the Stop the War Coalition and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign this week refused to bow to pressure from both the UK government and the police to call off its march in London on Saturday, provoking a furious reaction from the UK Home Secretary, Suella Braverman.
Bravermen used an Op-ed in The Times to viciously attack the protest and encourage both street fascists and the police to disrupt it. But she was writing as Rishi Sunak had to concede that he was powerless to stop the march and the situation has only deepened the crisis within his own government and provided a political victory to the movement
The right in Britain has been increasingly panicked about the size and spread of the protests, especially in London.
But despite using every means at their disposal to attack the demonstrations, they have only grown in size and are leaving the pro-Israeli establishment in Britain more isolated.
Coaches are coming from across Wales, Scotland and England to London on Saturday, with the organiser of the Cardiff coach telling voice.wales that had more coaches been available, they would have easily filled more than one.
The majority of those in south east Wales calling for a ceasefire will now join the protest in Cardiff at 12 noon, at the Nye Bevan statue on Queen St.
It will be the fourth week in a row people have taken to the streets of the Welsh capital, with thousands having participated so far.
But despite the political gains made by the movement in Wales, England and Scotland, activists are fully aware that there is no let up for the people in Gaza.
A spokesperson for Stop the War Pembrokeshire, one of the organisers of the Haverfordwest action said that it is “vital that as a county we make it abundantly clear to our elected representatives in Parliament that they do not speak for us if they advocate the current genocide being inflicted on the people of Palestine by Israel.”
“Sadly we have seen in recent weeks that Stephen Crabb has called for such escalations of violence.”
Patrick Connellan from the Solidarity with Palestine Pembrokeshire group added that the “genocidal indiscriminate bombing of Palestinians in Gaza, including 1000s children, carried out by Israel and supported by the US and U.K., must stop immediately.”
“We call on our local MP Stephen Crabb to see sense and stop backing the apartheid state of Israel. Nothing can justify the collective punishment of a people. Shamefully, the leader of the Labour Party, Keir Starmer, is also backing the killing. They must listen to the 76% of the British public who demand a ceasefire.”
