Durham Council Considers Israel-Palestine Ceasefire Resolution

After months of citizens calling for action during public comment periods, the Durham City Council now is set to pass a resolution seeking an end to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.

The resolution, included in the agenda for the Feb. 19 council meeting, recognizes the diverse nationalities, ethnicities, and faiths of Durham residents who have felt “real and personal” impacts from the war that started Oct. 7 with Hamas attacking Israel. About 1,200 people died in that attack and more than 100 hostages were taken.

Since Oct. 7, however, the City Council laments that “disproportionate retaliation in the form of bombing of Gaza and a limiting of most humanitarian aid has claimed the lives of at least 26,000 Palestinians, injured at least 50,000 Palestinians, displaced most of the Palestinian population of Gaza, and has put thousands of people at risk of death from starvation, unsanitary conditions, and lack of healthcare.”

The resolution calls for:

• Urging President Joe Biden to call for and facilitate de-escalation and a sustained bi-lateral ceasefire.
• Urging the administration to send and facilitate immediate entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza at the scale required.
• Releasing all hostages held in Gaza.
• Releasing all people unjustly held in the region.
• Urging the president and the international community to work toward long-term solutions that afford safety and dignity to all people in Israel, Palestine, and the region, and which foster just and representative government for both Palestinians and Israelis.

The resolution indicates support for Palestinian, Israeli, Muslim, and Jewish residents, while it condemns antisemitic, anti-Palestinian, anti-Israeli, and Islamophobic rhetoric and attacks.

Worth noting: Raleigh residents also have called for their City Council to pass a similar resolution, but that board has been unable to reach consensus. The Town of Carrboro, on the other hand, passed a ceasefire resolution on Nov. 14, 2023.

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