Agenda item

To receive a deputation from Parents for Peace Worthing.

The following deputation was presented on behalf of Parents for Peace, Worthing. 

Background  

We are submitting this deputation to the council because we are horrified by the continuing violence and the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and call for our local council representatives to show solidarity with all people affected by the conflict and lobby the government for an immediate permanent ceasefire and the upholding of international humanitarian law.

Latest figures indicate that following October 7^th attack in which an estimated 1,200 people  died and up to 138 hostages remain held by Hamas, over 28,000 people have been killed in  Gaza, including more than 11,500 children.¹ To put this into context, this is more than the  entire primary school population of Worthing.²  

Over 63,000 people in Gaza have been injured and with health facilities decimated only 4 out of 40 hospitals remain partially functioning in the Gaza strip), access to medical care is severely limited.  

According to UN figures, 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced, many repeatedly³. Tens of thousands are living in makeshift tents or under plastic sheets with conditions worsened by the cold winter. Current UN estimates suggest 60% of homes have been destroyed or damaged, nine in every 10 schools have suffered "significant damage", and most hospitals have stopped working.  

With closed borders, the UN has warned that famine is imminent, access to safe drinking water is a “struggle” and infectious diseases are spreading⁴. It states that all children under five in Gaza (335,000) are at high risk of severe malnutrition and preventable death, with estimates that in the coming weeks at least 10,000 children under five will need therapeutic foods to help treat the most life-threatening form of malnutrition and will require urgent treatment.⁵  

The Palestinian people are not Hamas, and the response to the violent attacks by Hamas on 7th October cannot be the mass death of thousands of innocent Palestinians. Humanity is at stake and as parents and fellow human beings, we cannot condone the disproportionate devastation this is having on innocent civilians, particularly children and all upon the UK government to call for a ceasefire.  

¹ Reuters article, Feb 10th, 2024  

² 7,682 primary school students in Worthing 2023/24  

³Israel-Gaza War: 'Displaced Gazans living in the open' UN says BBC News article 30/12/23 

⁴ Famine in Gaza is being made 'inevitable', says UN Rapporteur Guardian News article, 28/01/24 

⁵ Statement by UNICEF on the risk of famine in the Gaza strip 22/12/23 

This is a matter that is causing great concern to people in our community. Local groups have been established to show solidarity with the Palestinian people, with vigils and events well attended, demonstrating the strength of feeling among our community on this issue.⁶ Feedback from those attending these events has highlighted frustration within our community at the lack of an adequate governmental response.  

We understand that international issues do not fall under the council’s jurisdiction. However, other councils (such as Preston, Oxford and Luton) have written to the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary to urge them to support calls for a ceasefire.  

This deputation therefore requests

As residents of Worthing, we call on our representatives to show leadership on this issue, stand with humanity and use their voice to publicly lobby the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary to call for:  

·         An immediate, permanent ceasefire  

·         Unfettered access to humanitarian aid in Gaza  

·         Release of all hostages  

·         Compliance with the ICJ ruling and with international humanitarian law  

We look forward to your support in representing your constituents’ concerns and doing all within your limitations to call for an end to this catastrophic level of violence. 

The Deputy Leader responded to the deputation by thanking Parents for Peace, Worthing for taking the time to bring this important deputation to Worthing Borough Council. The situation was of great concern to many of Worthing’s residents, many outside of Worthing and beyond. With ‘Council in the Community’ being part of the Deputy Leader’s Portfolio, Cllr Walker stated that he intended to respond to this deputation in the following way:-

As the deputation called for locally elected representatives to lobby the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, Cllr Walker proposed the following motion without notice, to be voted upon by members, ‘that under Council Procedure Rule 15.1(d), this deputation be referred on by Worthing Borough Council, to the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary as requested’      

The proposal was seconded by Councillor Kevin Jenkins and following a vote, was unanimously supported.