Wales TUC Statement: We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

17 May 2021 01:11 PM

Wales TUC's statement delivered recently (15 May 2021) at Palestine Solidarity Campaign in Cardiff.

Wales Trades Union Congress stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people.  

We condemn the escalation of violence and mourn the loss of Palestinian and Israeli lives.   

We express our solidarity with the Palestinian families whose planned eviction and forced displacement from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah. Even the UN believes that this could amount to a war crime under the Fourth Geneva Convention and must not be allowed to go ahead. 

We condemn the excessive use of force by Israeli security forces against Palestinians protesting the evictions, and the inhumane Israeli air strikes on the Gaza strip..  

We condemn the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem and violence inflicted on worshippers.  

We condemn the detention of Ashraf Al-A’war, a Secretary of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions, by Israeli security forces and his month long ban on trade union and political activities.  

Palestinians have the right to peaceful protest – to protest against being forcibly evicted from their homes, to protest against occupation, to protest for their rights.   

The UK government and international community must take firm action to stop the escalation of violence and to hold the Israeli government account – to stop the persistent violations of international law, to stop the excessive use of force against Palestinians, and to end the illegal occupation.  

UK trade policy must make sure Palestinian labour and human rights are protected and respected, and support an end to the occupation.  

The UK-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement needs to be suspended until Palestinian rights are respected. 

Trade with the illegal settlements must be banned.  

Arms trading and military collaboration military collaboration with Israel must end.  

And there’s more we can do here in Wales. In 2019 we invited Palestinian ambassador, Husam Said Zomlot, to the Senedd to meet Welsh Government ministers and politicians so they could learn about Palestinian people’s lives and how the international community can express solidarity 

Welsh Government and the Senedd must condemn the planned evictions in Sheikh Jarrah, the violence and the needless loss of life.  

And they must make sure that no public money – none of our money – is going to firms which profit illegal settlements or the exploitation of Palestinian people.  

Trade unions throughout the world are calling for an end to the violence, an end to rights violations and for international law to be followed. We will stand with the Palestinian people until the injustice ends. Thank you.