Belfast council meeting 'was simply an Israel-bashing exercise which will affect nothing' says unionist councillor

A Google search does not show any charity of that name – however, there is one called Medical Aid for Palestinians.

Based in London, its president Tory Baroness Patricia Morris OBE, the deputy speaker of the House of Lords (it also counts Sir Terence English, the surgeon who did the UK’s first successful heart transplant, among its honorary patrons).

The council’s sole TUV member Ron McDowell tried to halt the meeting, by arguing that it breached the council’s standing orders, which say the motion must be relevant to Belfast.

Sinn Fein Lord Mayor Ryan Murphy interjected to say “there are a number of Palestinian citizens living in the city – I think it is fairly relevant,” ruled the meeting would proceed, and asked him to sit down.

The motion had been proposed originally by Sinn Fein, but the party ended up accepting a welter of amendments, mainly from People Before Profit and the Greens, but also from the SDLP and Alliance.

It passed in the face of unionist objections, with the final vote being 30 in favour to 16 against.

Here are a few of the things it said:

• That the council agrees the Israeli ambassador “should no longer enjoy diplomatic status in Ireland while Israel refuses the imperative for ceasefires”;
• “Calls on the UN to take meaningful action and re-establish its 'Special Committee against Apartheid' to dismantle Israel's apartheid systems”;
• “Commits to supporting the campaign demands of the movement for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel”;
• Calls for the Irish government “to refuse to allow US troops or military equipment to pass through Shannon or any other airport while Israeli apartheid continues”;
• And condemns “Israel’s campaign of genocide and ethnic cleansing”.

DUP group leader Sarah Bunting said that “we absolutely send our sympathy to all those innocent people caught up in this war on both sides, but Israel has the right to defend itself and this war began on October 7 when Hamas attacked an open-air concert and murdered indiscriminately… we stand in solidarity with the Jewish people in Belfast”.

The original Sinn Fein proposer of the motion, councillor Ciaran Beattie, said: “I'm not surprised unionists don't support this motion. Unionists have a history of supporting apartheid states – they supported an apartheid South Africa…

"But the purpose of this motion, and the day it's on, is trying to highlight that we as a situation are compassionate.

"We care about babies that are being murdered.

"We're going to stand up for their rights and say it's wrong."

Speaking to the News Letter on Thursday after the vote, councillor McDowell said: “Last night council passed a motion that was biased and fanciful. It was very disappointing.

"There was no mention of Hamas. It was simply an Israeli-bashing exercise that has no power, that'll have minimal effect, that won't cause ripples around the world.

"All it did was serve to divide the council chamber.”

He added: “Israel are trying to protect its borders. This is an old saying, you'll have heard it yourself: if Hamas lays down its arms there'll be peace tomorrow.

"If Israel lays down its arms, there'll be no more Israel.”

According to the Gaza’s Government Media Office (under Hamas’ control), said that as of Tuesday, more than 15,000 Palestinians have been killed, including about 6,150 children and 4,000 women.

Most Gazans have now fled their homes to shelter elsewhere, leading to overcrowding in UN shelters. The World Health Organisation reports that there are “significant increases in some communicable diseases” with 111,000 cases of acute respiratory infection and 36,000 cases of diarrhoea in children below five since the hostilities began.

Meanwhile, at least 75 Israeli soldiers have been killed.