Rochdale Council passes motion regarding Gaza

At Wednesday's 15 October) full council meeting, the council passed a motion urging Israel and the Hamas administration to negotiate a permanent ceasefire.

In the wake of recent fighting in Gaza, over 6,000 concerned Rochdalians and people from the North West took part in a peaceful expression of concern at the events unfolding in Gaza.

The motion passed by the Council welcomes the agreement of all parties to a ceasefire and urges that both the Government of Israel and Hamas Administration to:

• Seek to negotiate a permanent ceasefire and take the opportunity to reach a comprehensive agreement that tackles the underlying cause of conflict and ensure that rockets are never again fired at civilian targets.
• That both Israel and Hamas should respect and adhere to the international Convention of Human Rights.
• That Israel lifts its restrictions to ease the suffering of ordinary Palestinians allowing the Gaza economy to grow.
• And Israel should meet its obligations under international law by recognising the fundamental rights of the Arab Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality as stipulated in UN resolution 194.

Councillor Richard Farnell said: “We welcome the recent ceasefire but there is a need for a longer and lasting solution. Over 200 Palestinians have been killed including 40 children. In the past six years, attacks on Gaza have left 2,000 civilians dead, 300 children killed and 5,000 wounded. Gaza is the most densely populated place in the world. 50% of people are unemployed. Four out of five cities rely on food aid or they would starve. There is no education – 84% of children are forced out of school.

“We condemn Israel’s breech of people’s human rights. Rochdale has a proud history of standing up for situations and Rochdale always raises its voice. We are committed to raising our voice.”

Councillor Ashley Dearnley added: “Some do wonder why we are debating this issue in Rochdale Council. There was a debate in the House of Commons on Tuesday regarding Gaza and Israel and from what I understand the majority of MPs didn’t even turn up to the debate which is likely to have no effect on the situation. If the House of Commons debate is not likely to have an effect then I am not sure what difference a debate in Rochdale will have.

“Saying that, none of us want to see people killed. It is vital we have peace for the residents and that they are not in a situation where rockets are fired.”

Councillor Daalat Ali added that this will make a difference. He said: “Yes, things like this do make a difference. Gaza is a living jail with no freedom of movement and no education. We can’t just stand and ignore this.”

Whilst most councillors agreed to the motion, Councillor Ian Duckworth did not see the need to pass such a motion in Rochdale.

He said: “I get angry at motions like this. There is no use in being sanctimonious. Everywhere in the world is in flames. It is not all about Palestine. All of the world is at war. It is about votes in Rochdale. With what recently went on in Heywood and Middleton where the Labour Party nearly died, we can’t pass motions like this when we can’t even fill the pot holes in people’s roads.”

The motion was passed with the majority of councillors voting for the motion.