Earlier this week, Dundee City Council unanimously passed the following motion and amendment about Nablus and Gaza with no speakers against.
Mike Whitehead was allowed to speak to the motion on behalf of DNTA.
The motion from Labour councillor, Wendy Scullin, read:
This council condemns the increasing attacks on our twin city of Nablus at the hands of the IDF and adds to the calls for a wider ceasefire in Gaza and all of Palestine.
· Council calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and for a negotiated lasting peace agreement to be reached in order to bring lasting peace and stability to our twin city of Nablus.
· Council condemns the increasing number of attacks by the Israeli defense force, the displacement of people and the loss of civilian lives.
· Council calls for access to Gaza for aid workers to distribute aid safely to prevent further famine.
Council instructs the chief executive of the council to write to the Foreign Secretary and ask him to write to his Israeli counterpart condemning these attacks.
An amendment strengthening the motion was put forward by SNP councillor, Heather Anderson:
Council condemns the holding of both Palestinian and Israeli hostages and looks to unite families across the region.
And add as the final sentence:
‘To instruct the Chief executive to write to the PM and ask him to acknowledge the UN commission of inquiry report that declares Israel has committed genocide in Gaza; calling on his Government to immediately halt all arms sales to the state of Israel; and to impose economic and cultural sanctions on the state of Israel.’
Many councillors spoke positively about our twinning with Nablus and the work of DNTA in promoting it.
The whole debate can be viewed on YouTube, starting at 1hr:20mins into the meeting.