Derry Sinn Féin councillors abstain from supporting Gaza motion

Derry City and Strabane District Council has passed two motions aimed at putting pressure on authorities to pursue a ceasefire in Gaza and a lasting solution to the conflict.

Both motions passed, one without the support of Sinn Féin's councillors at the full council meeting on Wednesday.

Councillor Shaun Harkin proposed the motion that caused more controversy at the meeting, with Sinn Féin, the DUP and UUP putting forward arguments against it.

The People Before Profit councillor's motion asked council write to the Irish and British governments to support the call for an ‘immediate cessation of the bombardment and genocidal siege of Gaza’ and for the immediate expulsion of Israeli ambassadors.

Cllr Harkin said the expulsion of Israeli ambassadors would send a clear message.

“We have to stop Israel from being able to conduct a ground invasion that will see a lot more innocent people killed,” he said.

“I think we have to be very clear and put that out there as a council because that's what the demand has been here in the demonstrations in Derry, Belfast, Dublin, right across the island, and globally as well.

“I think we will send a very powerful message, if we actually call for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassadors to Britain and to Ireland.

“There's six and a half thousand people dead in Gaza. There's scores of people dead in the West Bank. It's very clear that Israel is preparing for a ground invasion that will potentially see the slaughter of tens of thousands.

“This is happening in a context where there's been a blockade on food, a blockade on fuel, blockade on electricity, a blockade on the means of life for people inside Gaza. And the trickle of humanitarian aid that is arriving in Gaza right now will not undo the catastrophe that has taken place.”

He said it's important to clearly state what is happening in the region as Israeli authorities also become emboldened in their rhetoric.

“I think we have to be very clear about the scale of war that Israel is conducting using the word 'genocide'. We cannot use that word lightly but that is what's happening.”

“This apartheid Israeli government is openly talking about moving Palestinians out of the areas in which they live: the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We know that this has been at the heart of the expansionist Israeli project for many, many years, but they've never been able to speak it.

“But they’ve undermined any possibility of a two-state solution by encouraging this settlement of 700,000 Illegal settlers in the West Bank now. That is what has caused this crisis.”

Cllr Shaun Harkin

Sinn Féin councillor Chris Jackson said the deaths in Gaza cannot be ignored but they could not support this motion right now.

“At this moment in time we're facing a situation where people are being slaughtered on a daily basis. Hospitals are being stripped of vital energy to save people's lives, the population being starved of food and water. It's disgraceful. If it can't be described as a war crime, I don't know what can,” he said.

“But the information and the feedback that we're receiving on a daily basis from leaders within Palestine is that they want to focus on the immediate cessation of the indiscriminate bombing and for international law to be completely respected. It's been ignored for decades now. The focus needs to be on those key asks.

“I completely agree with the sentiments around the expulsion of ambassadors and all of that but from within Palestine the message is very clear. The message needs to be focused on the cessation and the respect for international law. So on that basis, taken from those who are at the heart of the struggle, we won't be supporting the motion.”

Cllr Christopher Jackson

Cllr Gary Donnelly said he was 'shocked’ to hear Sinn Féin would not back the motion.

“I'm actually shocked to hear the refusal of Sinn Féin to support this. It's something that they will have to explain to people outside. It's thrown me here. People in Gaza can focus on nothing at the minute but staying alive,” the independent councillor said.

He said a ceasefire is 'welcomed' but a long term solution is needed to prevent the cycle continuing.

“You don't ask a serial killer to pause from their killing and hope that he or she is going to have a change of heart and not continue again. Any pause here is welcomed but there needs to be change.

“There needs to be pressure on the Israeli state so they don't just re-arm and get back out again. There needs to be meaningful change. There has to be a ceasefire. But there has to be change.

“It's been portrayed here that Hamas is the problem, Hamas is a symptom. In the West Bank, where settler colonists and Israelis are killing people with impunity, torturing people, burning people – there's no Hamas there. This is a war on the Palestinian people and hundreds have been killed and thousands have been arrested and there's no Hamas there.”

He said the UK and US have essentially endorsed Israel’s actions by providing billions in aid.

“The pressure needs to be put on and this is just a small step in expelling the ambassadors. We have a BDS position, a corporate position, in this council and we need to ensure that it happens.”

Cllr Gary Donnelly

Cllr Donnelly took issue with comments made by UUP councillor, Alderman Ryan McCready during the discussion on the other motion regarding Gaza.

“McCready said there's no winners in war. There are winners in war. It's called arms manufacturers, which he's part in parcel of.

“There are winners, there's a lot of money to be made. We had one in this city, Raytheon, until it was voted out.”

Alderman McCready called the comment a ‘cheapshot’ and added that Hamas is a ‘cancer’.

“I'll overlook the personal cheapshots at my profession of arms if members can heed the gravity of the following point: the fact that you or anyone would fly a flag or somehow give support to Hamas, of which I have already made a distinction to separate from the Palestinian people, but Hamas will have no problem whether you fly their flag or support Hamas anyway,” the UUP councillor said.

“If you were in their States right now, because you're an infidel. They would cut your head off and they would tear you down the street.

“The fact that we're here in a nice environment without repercussions, we can say what we like, but that is the ideology of Hamas. It is just an extension of ISIS and Jaish. Across the Middle East it is a cancer.”

Ald McCready said he takes issue with the expulsion of diplomats.

“I would argue against that. The whole point is to communicate more, not less dialogue, but more dialogue. How can you go towards peace and reconciliation when you remove elements of how governments and communities communicate with each other.”

Cllr Ryan McCready

Alderman Derek Hussey said the motion disregards the Hamas attacks on Israelis and said he supports Israel’s right to defend itself.

“It's an incredulous motion to be honest with you. It purposely ignores the atrocities carried out by Hamas terrorists. Horrific acts that took place on 7 October inside Israel, among some of the most barbaric acts recorded and recorded by the terrorists themselves,” the UUP councillor said.

“I personally, and I believe our party supports Israel's right to defend its borders and indeed, their undertaking to remove Hamas from Gaza entirely.

“You've heard my colleague, Alderman McCready, a man with experience of the horrors of war, made it very clear that there is the expectation that Israel will act within the recognized conventions in ensuring that innocent Palestinians are protected as much as possible.

"However, the actions of Hamas launching attacks from residential areas, from schools and even hospitals create circumstances where it is they who are placing their own people in harm's way. But what else would you expect from a terrorist organisation?”

The motion passed with 12 for, eight against, and 17 abstaining from voting.

Cllr Brian Tierney also proposed a motion to push for a ceasefire and progress to be made for a two-state solution.

The motion proposed that the council take the following actions:

Condemn the horrifying violence and indiscriminate murder of civilians in Gaza and southern Israel.

Express its solidarity with civilians in the region who face the threat of air strikes, rocket attacks, abduction and the most unthinkable forms of murder every day.

Call for an immediate ceasefire and the implementation of robust humanitarian aid corridors to provide relief to the civilian population in Gaza, monitored and underpinned by the United Nations.

Further calls for the immediate and safe release of all hostages held by Hamas.

Support a full International Criminal Court investigation of potential war crimes committed against people in Gaza and southern Israel.

And call on the International Community to begin a fulsome diplomatic effort toward reaching a two-state solution to provide peace and security for the people of Palestine and Israel.

The SDLP councillor said the proposal comes from conversations his party has been having with organisations in Palestine and a discussion between Foyle MP Colum Eastwood and the Palestinian ambassador to the UK.

“We need to see as an end to the terrible attacks that are happening in Gaza, I think it's fair to say that we've all watched on our TV screens over recent weeks, that terrible, terrible events, which are taking place at the moment,” he said.

“I think we're extremely well placed in this part of the world to understand that for any peaceful solution, there has to be a process. From our experience, the first stage in that process is a ceasefire. That needs to happen right away.

“Indiscriminate bombing of men, women and children in Gaza needs to stop and it needs to stop now.

“We also need to support calls for the international community to step in as a matter of urgency to bring this ceasefire about.”

Alderman Hussey took issue with the fact that the motion was a pop up motion given that Hamas’s attacks took place on October 7.

Additionally, he took issue with comments from Cllr Harkin who said October 7 was not the beginning of the conflict.

“Councillor Harkin said not to start on 7 October. The current situation commenced on 7 October like it or not,” the UUP councillor said.

“A true and lasting peace settlement for the Middle East is something every single person in this chamber believes should happen and hopes may one day be achieved.

“The unfortunate truth is that there are those across the Middle East who do not want a true and lasting peace. They wish only for the eradication of Israel and of every person living in Israel. Hamas's stated aim is the eradication of Israel.

“People have said Hamas is a prison for the people who live in Gaza. Hamas is the prison guards, make no mistake about that.

“A concern that I have with this particular motion lies at the end because there is an attempt to prejudge a solution by saying the only solution is a two state solution.”

Cllr Tierney’s motion passed with 26 for and 11 abstentions.