Issue - meetings

To consider the following Motion in the names of Councillors Cooper, Allison and Lee-Richards;

“This Council notes that;

1.    East Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Golan Heights and Gaza are illegally occupied by Israel; and that Gaza has been subject to 16 years of blockade.

2.    The Israeli government has been withholding essential resources from Gaza and bombing civilian targets, such as schools, hospitals, and media organisations all of which constitute war crimes.

3.    Under Article II of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, genocide is defined as certain acts “committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group” and that, under Article I, the UK has confirmed that genocide is a crime under international law which it undertakes to prevent and to punish.

4.    The UK, at the UN Security Council on 18 October 2023, refused to vote for “humanitarian pauses” to deliver lifesaving aid to millions in Gaza.

5.    Deep concern is expressed about the conflict in Gaza by thousands of people in Kirklees.

6.    The impact of conflict on displacing people from their homes makes them asylum seekers and refugees who then understandably flee to safer countries like the UK.

7.    Hamas attacks took place on October 7^th, when hundreds of innocent Israeli civilians and soldiers were killed and taken hostage.

This Council believes that;

1.    All atrocities committed against civilians by Hamas or the Israeli Defence Force must be condemned and investigated.

2.    All forms of racism, including anti-Palestinian racism, antisemitism and Islamophobia have no place in Kirklees and condemns any attacks on Palestinian, Jewish or Muslim people.

3.    All political leaders have a responsibility to try to prevent genocide, such as the annihilation of the civilian population of Gaza 

4.    That Hamas should release all hostages.

5.    The state of Israel is enacting a system recognised as apartheid by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, B’tselem and the South African Government.

6.    The only way to secure peace between Israelis and Palestinians is for a just political settlement based on the end of the occupation of Palestinian territories and an end to discriminatory apartheid policies, settler colonialism and ethnic cleansing.

This Council therefore resolves to ask the Chief Executive to write to the UK Government requesting it to;

(i)             call for an immediate permanent ceasefire and to vote for this at the UN.

(ii)            cease all arms sales to Israel and end military aid for Israel.

(iii)          call on Israel to resume negotiations with the Palestinians.

(iv)          ask to push for an end to the occupation and all parties to adhere to United Nations Resolution 242

(v)           ask all parties to release hostages and prisoners held in “administrative detention.”

Motion approved (as amended) (Labour Group amendment carried).