Derry City and Strabane District Council passes motion calling for Israeli ambassadors to be expelled - just as MPs in Commons insist such calls must end

The motion was put forward by People Before Profit councillor Shaun Harkin, whose party has been among the most vocal over the past fortnight-and-a-half in condemning the actions of Israel, both prior to and after the October 7 attack by Hamas.

At the same time, the House of Commons was debating the most recent stage (the report stage) of the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill 2022-23.

This bill, being moved by the Tory government, seeks to prevent councils across all of the UK from making procurement decisions “in a way that indicates moral or political disapproval of a foreign territory”.

It is designed specifically to counteract the many calls for a boycott of Israeli goods and institutions which have been debated in councils nationwide for some years.

Back in June of this year, Michael Gove said that under the bill “sends a clear message to councils and other publicly-funded institutions that they need to focus on delivering for the public and not spending taxpayers’ money pursuing their own foreign policy agenda”.

The bill still has another two stages to go in the Commons, plus a passage through the Lords, before becoming law.

Derry City council had already passed a motion on September 29, 2016, saying “that this council affirms its support for the Palestinian people, that this council affirms its support for the BDS [boycott, divestment and sanctions] campaign, and that this council investigates the most practical means of implementing this BDS campaign”.

Despite this, the motion was never translated into a formal procurement policy.

At its meeting on Wednesday afternoon, an initial motion of a more generic nature from SDLP councillor Brian Tierney was passed.

It condemned the killings of civilians in both Gaza and Israel and called for the freeing of hostages by Hamas, the pursuit of a two-state solution, and an inquiry by the International Criminal Court into all the “potential war crimes” carried out in both Israel and Gaza.

But then councillor Harkin’s different motion was debated.

It read: “Council will write to the Irish and British government [sic] to support the call for an immediate cessation of the bombardment and genocidal siege of Gaza and for the immediate expulsion of Israeli ambassadors.”

Among the objectors to it was DUP councillor Niree McMorris, who said the motion was “very one-sided”, adding we will “definitely not be supporting this motion”.

Alderman Derek Hussey of the UUP said: “It’s an incredulous motion, to be honest with you. The member purposefully ignores the activities carried out by Hamas terrorists, horrific acts…

"There is the expectation that Israel will act within the recognised conventions in ensuring that innocent Palestinians are protected as much as possible.

"However the actions of Hamas when launching attacks from residential areas, from schools and even hospitals, creates circumstances where it is they who are placing their own people in harm’s way.”

When it came to a vote there were 12 councillors for, eight against, and 17 abstentions, causing the vote to pass.

The council itself is overwhelmingly dominated by Sinn Fein (18 seats) and the SDLP (10), with only five DUP councillors and three UUP ones, plus one People Before Profit and three independents.

This all comes after sharp disputes between Sinn Fein and the taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

In a debate on Tuesday, Mary Lou McDonald had told the Dail: “The people of Gaza stand at the threshold of annihilation.

"At the meeting of the European Council on Thursday, will the Taoiseach tell European leaders that they must make the call for an unequivocal, full ceasefire?”

What followed was a barbed exchange between her and Mr Varadkar, with the latter saying: “I will not tell them. The approach [you] might adopt as Taoiseach would be to attend the meeting, point the finger, tell people off and hold a press conference afterwards. That is not how you do this job.”