Councillors divided over Gaza peace motion as role questioned

The conflict is now entering its third month since Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, killing 1200 and taking 240 hostages - with Israel vowing to annihilate the militant Islamist group in response.

Since then, around 18,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks, with 49,500 injured, according to Gaza health authorities.

About 100 of the Israeli hostages have now also been freed after both sides agreed to a week-long truce which ended on December 1.

Responding to the ongoing conflict, Wagga councillors voted 5-3 to condemn violence in the conflict.

On Monday night, Councillors Jenny McKinnon and Richard Foley tabled a motion calling on council to"condemn[s] violence of all kinds, note the need for an immediate permanent ceasefire in Gaza, [and] acknowledge calls from around the world for peaceful resolution of the conflict between Israel and Palestine".

However, the majority of councillors rejected the specific wording of the original motion, favouring an amended motion that addressed conflicts more broadly and not only between Israel and Hamas.

The amended motion, tabled by former mayor Councillor Rod Kendall, condemned among other things, attacks on civilian populations in any conflict or war, condemned the use of civilians as human shields and called for an immediate ceasefire from all current wars and a withdrawal from the area of conflict.

The final motion also called on all parties to enter into immediate negotiations for permanent peace and delegated authority to the mayor to write to the "relevant federal minister" about this motion and this country's obligations to uphold the Statute of Rome (Rome Statute).

Cr Foley sought to draw attention to the fact Australia is a signatory to the Rome Statute, which Australia agreed to along with over 100 other countries in 1998, leading to the establishment of the International Criminal Court.

Genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression are the four crimes that those signatories agreed as being the jurisdiction of the ICC.

Cr Foley said according to that statute, it is "the duty of every state to exercise its jurisdiction over those responsible for international crimes."

He also quoted a famous poem by German lutheran pastor and Nazi opponent Martin Niemoller, entitled First they came.

The poem emphasises the importance of not staying silent, but speaking up for the oppressed, citing such victims as socialists, trade unionists, and Jews.

Cr McKinnon agreed that people - including council - need to speak up for Palestinians and said she has been "inundated" with community support over the council motion.

She said there is an "incredible amount of concern" over the present "catastrophe in Gaza" and noted that while council is unable to do anything directly to change the situation in Gaza, "we can use our voices."

"If our voice is all we have, then we should use it, because to stay silent is to accept violence, injustice and the impact on civilians of a war that is not of their making," Cr McKinnon said.

But while agreeing with her intent, Cr Kendall took issue that the original motion singled out the Israeli-Hamas conflict and cited many other ongoing conflicts that deserve to be treated with the same level of concern.

He said every innocent bystander in conflicts including Ukraine, Sudan, Uganda, Syria and Mozambique among others deserves council's equal support.

He noted there are people in the Wagga community affected by these other conflicts.

"Every one of those conflicts is a catastrophe and it's important we don't stay silent to any one of them," Cr Kendall said.

He argued that if local governments across the globe could "get together and condemn [conflicts]", then representatives of "100 per cent of the world's population" would be "calling out against every conflict in the world."

Cr Kendall said some ongoing conflicts have been going on for "years and years and years."

"I don't believe anybody knows the true number of casualties, but I'm sure in most of those conflicts, there are many more than what is currently occurring in Gaza," he said.

Cr Georgie Davies endorsed the amended motion and said it better aligned with Wagga Rotary's peace credo.

That credo upholds "respect for the life and dignity of every person, without discrimination or prejudice [and calls for the] rejection of violence in all of its forms and towards all people."

"I believe this amendment most aligns with that credo," Cr Davies said.

"We are a city of peace, so I will vote in favour of the amendment."

Mayor Dallas Tout also weighed in on the issue, saying he agrees it needs to consider the victims of other conflicts around the globe.

Cr Tout said while he supports the idea of the Israel-Gaza motion, "it does not sit right with me to exclude the other conflicts."

Deputy mayor Amelia Parkins also expressed concern about "singling out one conflict" but said she would support either motion as it was important to speak out on the issue.

However, Crs Mick Henderson and Tim Koschel were not satisfied with the changes.

Cr Henderson said while he supports women and children who are victims of overseas conflicts, he could not endorse the motion as he did not agree it was within council's remit of "roads, rates and rubbish" and said it should be dealt with by a "higher level of government."

"My thoughts go out to the [victims] but we've got that many issues of our own in the LGA: Roads, rates and rubbish," he said.

While backing the wording of the amended motion, Cr Koschel withdrew his support for the final vote after learning the original name of the motion - "supporting peace in Gaza" could not be changed as part of an amendment.

Responding to Cr Kendall's amendment, Cr McKinnon said she could not support the wording of the final motion.

"There's been some talk of condemnation tonight," she said.

"I think there's much to condemn on both sides."

Cr McKinnon argued council's duty extends far beyond the three Rs of roads, rates and rubbish and includes supporting the community among other things.

The motion passed five to three, with Crs Henderson and McKinnon voting against while Cr Koschel abstained.