A SMALL group of pro-Palestine protestors disrupted an MP surgery in mid Wales on Friday, wearing MP masks and covering their hands in fake blood.

The local group claimed Montgomeryshire MP Craig Williams has “blood on his hands” by not demanding Senedd and UK parliament call for an immediate ceasefire between Israeli armed forces and Palestine’s Hamas.

The estimated 20 Powys residents stood outside the surgery held at Treowen Meeting Hall on 3 November playing on drums and chanting “Heddwch [peace] now” “Craig Williams, shame on you” and “Tory friends of Israel, shame on you”.

In response to the protest, Craig Williams said: “I will continue to push the humanitarian corridors, the prioritisation of international aid and support Israel’s right to defend itself, and condemn the terrorist atrocities committed by Hamas.

“I am anti-war. I was scheduled to go to Israel a few weeks ago to understand the situation better, which was cancelled due to government advise.

“The Palestinian people are absolute victims of Hamas, as are the Jewish population and Arab population that lives in Israel. There a huge amount of victims on both sides and it is utterly horrific.”

Gareth Fysh-Foskett, 38, from Machynlleth, confronted Mr Williams at the end of his surgery about his lack of action.

Gareth said: “We are here because he is not in favour of a ceasefire and not putting any pressure on the government to call for one. He refused to acknowledge the war crimes committed by Israel and refused to call for a ceasefire.

“[During our meeting Williams] said he would speak to the foreign office and see if there was scope to call on Israel to offer a ceasefire if the hostages were released.

“We call on him to acknowledge the ongoing cycle of violence perpetuated by the Israeli bombings. Not calling for a ceasefire is not a solution for hostages held by Hamas - it instead creates more conditions for increasing violence across the board.”

Protestor Rachel Solnick, 37, said: “I’m Jewish and I demand a ceasefire. The UK has a long history of complicity in Palestinian oppression. I will not be silent as you justify war crimes and ethnic cleansing in my name.”

The surgery continued to the backdrop of drums as children and residents attended to speak to their MP about school closures in the local area.

One child was upset by the display, with Mr Williams adding: “I’m happy for people to protest outside the office, the one sad thing is they’ve really scared the children who came to talk about their school today.

“It’s dark, they’re banging drums and have red hands. People need to be considerate of other peoples feelings as well.”

The group assisted by pausing the protest when the family and child left the venue.

This comes after four weeks of intense fighting between the Palestinian military group Hamas and the Israeli Defense Forces after an unprecedented assault from Hamas on 7 October.