PLAID CYMRU has called on the British government to impose sanctions on Israel and take ”meaningful action to prevent the weaponisation of food” in Gaza.

The call came from Ceredigion Preseli MP Ben Lake after UN secretary-general Antonio Gutteres branded the famine in Gaza a “failure of humanity” and just hours after Israel killed another 20 people in a targeted missile attack on a hospital.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy has already announced sanctions on two Israeli government ministers and selected Israeli settlers on the Palestinian occupied territories.

But his Plaid Cymru counterpart has called for asset freezes and travel bans on senior members of the Israeli government and military, responsible for the genocide in Gaza and for the maintenance Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. 

Demanding the Labour government suspend its trade agreement with Israel and its 2030 Roadmap for a closer UK-Israel partnership, and ban imports from illegal Israeli settlements, the Plaid foreign affairs spokesman said: “The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is shocking and entirely preventable.

“Famine has been declared by UN experts, yet Israel is failing to allow sufficient food and medical supplies to flow into Gaza, putting hundreds of thousands of lives at risk.

“The government must take meaningful action to prevent the weaponisation of food, and should impose sanctions on the Israeli government. 

“Trade agreements providing preferential treatment to Israel should be suspended, and the government should waste no time in halting the 2030 roadmap for closer Britain-Israel ties, banning goods from illegal settlements, and ending all arms sales.

“Britain has a moral and legal responsibility to ensure Israel complies with international law, and urgent action is needed to prevent further humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.”