Agenda item

To approve the Minutes of the meeting of Council held on  22 February 2024, copy attached.

The Chair proposed, the Vice-Chair seconded, and Councillors agreed the minutes of the meeting of Full Council on 22 February 2024 subject to the following amendments:

Bottom of page 10 - delete "Councillors debated the motion, Councillors agreed and the motion was carried" and replace with "Councillors debated and agreed the proposed amendments, and so the amended motion was now the motion to be debated."

Bottom of page 10 - delete "Councillor Pugh proposed and Councillor Kup seconded the following amendment" and replace with "Councillor Pugh proposed, and Councillor Kup seconded the following alternative amendments to the former motion.

Bottom of page 12 - delete "Councillors debated the motion, councillors voted against the amended motion, the amended motion was lost" and replace with "Councillors debated and voted against the alternative amendments proposed by Councillor Pugh."

The end of the minute should reflect the following detail, that:

Council proceeded to debate the original motion as amended by Councillor Everitt and when the Chair asked Council to vote on the motion, Councillors agreed the following:

“That this Council:-

(a)  Notes:-

i.  In response to the Hamas-led attacks on 7th October, that ‘by mid-December the Israeli army has dropped 29,000 bombs, munitions and shells on the strip. Nearly 70% of Gaza’s 439,000 homes and half of its buildings have been damaged or destroyed’. Gaza is one of the most densely populated places in the world and home to 2.2 million Palestinians (of whom almost half are children).

iii.  As of 21 st January 2024, 25,105 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and another 62,681 wounded’. Over 1 million Palestinians have been displaced, and many of the killed and injured are children.

iii.  That collective punishment is against international law under the Geneva Conventions.

iv.  This escalation in violence has been felt acutely across the district by residents and in particular among health care workers and clinical staff at QEQM hospital, the main medical centre for Thanet, which has a far higher level of diversity than the general population, some of whom have lost loved ones. That residents in Thanet, as in other communities, have been further affected by the rise in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents across the UK and elsewhere.

Thanet has a significant Jewish community and heritage, and ‘more than seven out of ten Jews living in the UK have family in Israel, making the horrific 7 th October attack by Hamas personal’. UK Police have also reported a ‘record rise in religious hate crimes, with the Community Safety Trust, a Jewish charity describing the figures as ‘shocking’ and campaigners against Anti-Muslim abuse stating they are ‘deeply worrying’. It further notes that it is affecting communities ‘trust in authorities and their sense of identity and belonging’.

v.  That the Israeli government have cut off water, food, and electricity to Gaza which is a recognised war crime under International Humanitarian Law.

vi.  That on the 30 th October 2023 the World Bank warned that ‘oil prices could reach $150 in 2024 due to the consequences of the war leading to further oil supply disruption’ which would ‘inevitably mean higher food prices’. ‘The IMF estimates that a sustained 10% increase in oil prices shaves 0.15 percentage points off global economic growth and adds 0.4 points to inflation in the following year’. It further adds that ‘the cost of a barrel of crude oil is now about 10% higher than it was before the Hamas attack’. Government poverty data continues to rank ‘Thanet as the most deprived local authority in Kent’, it also ‘has the most LSOAs within the most deprived decile with 18’ and has seen no change since 2015.

Clearly, the impact of increased food and fuel prices now and as predicted into the coming year, will be felt by all Thanet residents but disproportionally felt by the significant number of residents that live in poverty. In addition, higher costs will also negatively affect the Council's finances. With no end in sight and tensions growing ‘if the conflict spreads to major oil-producing nations in the region such as Iran, the global economy could face severe repercussions as energy costs for businesses and households spike.’

(b)  Recognises that:

i.  What is happening in Gaza is a humanitarian catastrophe with horrific escalations of Violence.

ii.  Loss of all civilian lives and atrocities committed against civilians in both the Hamas attacks and the continuing bombardment of the Gaza strip by Israel, is horrific and must be condemned and investigated.

iii.  All forms of racism, including Anti-Palestinian racism, Antisemitism and Islamophobia have no place in Thanet or the wider world and condemns any attacks on these groups.

iv.  Polls show that UK citizens surveyed overwhelmingly support a humanitarian ceasefire, which has been called for by the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, UNICEF, Save the Children, the head of the WHO, as well as Oxfam. While Ipsos found ‘7 out of 10 UK citizens are concerned about the impact of the conflict on Palestinians and Israeli civilians’ and that they ‘are more likely to want the UK Government to be a neutral mediator or not be involved at all than support a particular side.’

v.  All political leaders, at all levels of government, have duties under international law to prevent genocide to the extent it is within their power; and that

vi.  Thousands of Thanet residents have joined protests, meetings and other events and gatherings, written to MPs, or contacted their councillors backing these calls for a ceasefire.

(c)  Therefore resolves to:-

(i)  Call upon the UK Government and all Westminster political parties to-

i.  Call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire,

ii.  Call for the opening of humanitarian corridors into Gaza to allow aid and other vital medical resources to flow unhindered in,

iii.  Call for the immediate unconditional release of the hostages held by Hamas;

iv.  Call for resumed negotiations to seek a peaceful two state solution that ensures justice, safety, fairness and equality for all;

(v)   request that the Leader submits this Motion to the UK Prime Minister.”