Almost 40% of MSs support pro-Palestine pledge

Nation.Cymru staff

Almost 40% of Members of the Senedd, including a majority of the new Welsh Government Cabinet, have backed a pledge supporting the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.

According to an analysis by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, 36 of the Senedd’s 96 members signed its “Senedd Pledge for Palestine” ahead of the election, including 33 Plaid Cymru MSs, both Green MSs and Labour’s Mike Hedges.

Among those who signed the pledge are seven of the ten members of the newly appointed Welsh Government Cabinet, including Deputy First Minister Sioned Williams, along with two deputy ministers.

The pledge commits signatories to “uphold the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people”, “stand up to Israel for its crimes of genocide and apartheid”, and ensure the Welsh Government is not complicit in those actions, including through support for BDS measures.

The BDS movement was launched in 2005 by Palestinian civil society organisations and calls for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel in response to its treatment of Palestinians. Campaigners say it was inspired by the international anti-apartheid movement against South Africa.

The analysis comes amid continuing political debate over Welsh Government links to defence companies connected to Israel’s military supply chain.

Last year it emerged the Welsh Government had awarded a £500,000 grant to a company involved in supplying parts for F-35 fighter jets used by Israel.

Critics argued the funding conflicted with Welsh ministers’ stated positions on the conflict in Gaza.

Bethan Sayed, co-chair of Palestine Solidarity Campaign Cymru, said the level of support among MSs marked “a watershed moment for Welsh politics”.

“The scale of support for the Senedd Pledge for Palestine is a watershed moment for Welsh politics,” she said.

“Almost 40% of our new Senedd Members have sent a clear message: the people of Wales will not sit idly by while the UK Government fuels the machinery of apartheid and genocide.

“This shows that Palestine was on the ballot paper, and the new Welsh Government must act decisively.”

Financial links

She called on ministers to review financial links with companies connected to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and urged the UK Government to end arms export licences to Israel.

“We are calling on the Welsh Government to immediately audit all financial ties to companies complicit in Israel’s illegal occupation and ensure that no more Welsh taxpayers’ money, such as the £500,000 grant to the F-35 supply chain, is used to facilitate the obliteration of Gaza,” she said.

“But the Senedd’s responsibility doesn’t stop at our borders. The Welsh Government must use its unique voice to demand that the UK Government end its arms export licences to Israel.”