Wales for Peace in Gaza

View October 2023 Feature ‘Wales for Peace in Israel & Palestine’

In May 2025, First Minister for Wales Eluned Morgan spoke out against the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with Welsh Government releasing an official statement on the humanitarian blockade in Gaza. Oxfam Cymru have critiqued the statement as “well-meaning, but… In the face of imminent famine and where humanitarian protections are systematically violated… devastatingly short of what is needed: polite appeal where moral outrage is called for.”

The First Minister stated:

“I continue to watch in horror at the situation unfolding in Gaza, and I know many of you feel the same way. The devastating images we see – families sleeping in rubble, children starving and crying out for food and water, hospitals on the verge of collapse – aren’t just snapshots of a distant crisis, they’re the daily, brutal reality for people living through unthinkable suffering, with no end in sight.

Let’s be straightforward – what’s happening is an atrocity, and it needs to end. I encourage leaders across the world to put real pressure on the Israeli government to stop the suffering of innocent Palestinians. This isn’t about politics – it’s about basic humanity.”

Responding to the First Minister’s statement, Oxfam Cymru said:

“If we do not speak, the silence will bury the truth. The people of Gaza are not dying because of crop failure, or logistics. They are being starved – deliberately – through a military blockade that contravenes international humanitarian law. Water sources have been bombed. Food convoys have been denied entry. Humanitarian workers have been killed in record numbers. This is an overt attack on the basic human rights of Palestinians in Gaza. It is not a tragedy it is a crime.”

WCIA support Oxfam and civil society organisations Wales-wide in calling for tougher action for Welsh Government to:

  • Publicly demand the immediate, unconditional reinstatement of humanitarian aid access to Gaza.
  • Advocate to UK counterparts for the suspension of arms sales and export licences to Israel, in line with the UK’s legal obligations under international humanitarian law.
  • Ensure Welsh public resources and government operations are not complicit in this crisis.

“You must do everything in your power to push for a permanent ceasefire, to allow humanitarian aid for people facing intolerable suffering. The siege of Gaza must be stopped, and water, food and fuel allowed in. We ask you to work to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza” Oxfam Ceasefire Petition

The Welsh Government have contributed £100,000 towards the DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee) Middle East Humanitarian Appeal in October 2024, and a further £100,000 in January 2025.

Welsh Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and community groups have been very active in pressing Senedd Members for action on Israel and Gaza through the Senedd over 2023-25, bolstered by firm advocacy from Wales’ Future Generations Commissioner calling for Peace in Palestine.

“[Wales’] voice on the global stage should not only celebrate achievements but also confront injustices. I urge the Welsh Government to reaffirm its leadership in global responsibility and peacebuilding, advocating for immediate and impactful actions to address this pressing issue.“

Quakers have become the first British church to state their belief that the Israeli government is committing genocide in Gaza, following their annual gathering over 27 May. “Radical peacemaking requires us to engage with and to acknowledge truth in all its discomfort, complexity and cruelty. Quakers historically have spoken truth to power. We believe that genocide and mass displacement are underway in the actions of the Israeli government and its military towards the population of Gaza.”  

In a formal statement, the Coordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service (CCIVS) has characterised the situation in Gaza as a “genocide in real time”. The organisation cites mass starvation, targeted bombings of civilian areas, and the forced displacement of over 1.5 million people as evidence of a “systematic, targeted destruction of a people”.

A joint statement on Palestine was issued on 16 May by the governments of Ireland, Iceland, Malta and Luxembourg; and on 19 May, the UK Government alongside France and Canada issued a joint statement on the situation in Gaza and the West Bank:

“We call on the Israeli Government to stop its military operations in Gaza and immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.”

On 20 May the UK Government FCDO issued a release stating that sanctions are hitting West Bank Violence Networks.

On 31st May, Israeli authorities arrested Irish citizen D. Murphy aged 70, currently living in Swansea, from Khalet Al-Daba’a, in Masafer Yatta, located in the southern part of the occupied West Bank. D had been volunteering with the International Solidarity Movement at the time of her arrest, as a witness to events taking place in the West Bank.

On 10 June, the UK Government joined Canada, Australia, New Zealand & Norway to formally sanction far-right Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, for “incitement of violence” against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. Both will be banned from entering the UK and will have any assets in the UK frozen.

United Nations Responses

The United Nations Relief Chief has called on the UN Security Council to act decisively to prevent genocide in Gaza:

“Every single one of the 2.1 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip face the risk of famine. One in five face starvation – despite the fact that UN donors have funded the food that could save them. The few hospitals that have somehow survived bombardment are overwhelmed. The medics who have somehow survived drone and sniper attacks cannot keep up with the trauma and the spread of disease.”

The UN publishes daily updated Situation Reports @ The UN and the crisis in the Middle East: What you need to know

UN Human Rights Chief, Volker Turk, condemned Israeli strikes that continue to kill civilians and the ongoing blockade of essential aid, which has now entered its 10th week. “Any use of starvation of the civilian population as a method of war constitutes a war crime, and so do all forms of collective punishment.”

University of Bristol has published on the international legal implications of supporting Israel, in light of the ICJ’s (International Court of Justice) provisional measures and advisory opinion (view ICJ Convention on Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel).

Taking Action – What can I do?