NEWBURY TOWN COUNCIL TO FLY THE UN FLAG ON THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE
Newbury Town Council will be flying the United Nations flag on the 29th November to mark the UN International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
This date is chosen because of its meaning and significance to the Palestinian people. On that day in 1947, a UN resolution provided for the establishment in Palestine of a “Jewish State” and an “Arab State”, with Jerusalem as a corpus separatum under a special international regime. Only one, Israel, has so far come into being.
The International Day of Solidarity traditionally provides an opportunity for the international community to focus its attention on the fact that the Palestinian people have yet to attain their inalienable rights as defined by the General Assembly, namely, the right to self-determination without external interference, the right to national independence and sovereignty, and the right to return to their homes and property, from which they have been displaced.
This day is marked annually by civil society across the world, and Newbury Town Council have responded to a request to mark this special day by flying the UN Flag.
On the 19 July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an advisory opinion, at the request of the UN, on the legality of Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
It concluded that “Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful and should be ended as rapidly as possible; that it should cease new settlement activities and evacuate settlers, and that States should not recognise as legal the presence of Israel in the Territory.”
The attacks on Israeli citizens by Hamas on October 7th 2023 were shameful, and indescribable in the horror faced by young and old alike, killed and injured during that terrible day. With 1,162 identified fatalities, including at least 33 children, and the taking of hostages, the world needs to respond.
However, Israel’s conduct during the resulting invasion of Gaza has been devastating, with almost 43,000 Palestinians killed, and over half of them being children, women and elderly. Its persistent targeting of hospitals, schools, UN shelters and key infrastructure, as well as its deliberate limitations on the flow of aid, plus its displacement of 2 million civilians will be investigated as war crimes and genocide.
The only time any significant number of hostages on both sides were released was during a ceasefire last November. We therefore join the call for an immediate ceasefire to end this terrible suffering on all sides. The aspirations of people in Palestine are no different to those same people in Israel, or the UK for that matter. They want education, good jobs and safety in their homes.
In the same spirit that we will raise the UN Flag on Holocaust Memorial Day, this Council will be raising that flag on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on 29 November.
Contact:
Cllr Gary Norman, Leader of the Council – gary.norman@newbury.gov.uk
Toby Miles-Mallowan – CEO Newbury Town Council toby.miles-mallowan@newbury.gov.uk 01635 35486