City councillors have flown the Palestinian flag at Newcastle’s Civic Centre to protest against the loss of life in the ongoing Israeli conflict.
Newcastle City Councillor David Stockdale raised the flag on Tuesday evening during a staged ‘die in’ event which involved 100 people lying on the ground at the Renwick War Memorial to represent lives lost in the fighting.
It flew for half an hour and although Labour Cllr Stockdale didn’t have permission from the council officially to fly the occupied territory’s flag, he said death toll is too important to ignore.
It is estimated that 1875 people have been killed in Gaza and 64 soldiers and three Israeli civilians have died since fighting began on July 8.
“We have a strong tradition in Newcastle for standing up against international humanitarian issues for example when Nelson Mandela was given the Freedom of the City in 1986. At that time he was still considered a terrorist by the Government,” said Cllr Stockdale who represents the Blakelaw ward.
“I did hoist that flag, officially I didn’t have permission to do it, but the important thing is that it is a symbol. I flew it freely, a right people in Palestine don’t have. The flag is symbolic of the hope that we have not that it’s the end of the ground offensive in Gaza. It was also to respect the people who have lost their lives.”
The Die In demonstration was the fifth in a series of protests held in Newcastle against the loss of life in Gaza by the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, Friends of Al Aqsa, the Stop the War Coalition and Newcastle Labour Friends of Palestine.
A demonstration involving several hundred people was held in Newcastle in July and the crowds were addressed by Newcastle Central MP Chi Onwurah and British journalist and former Sunday Sun assistant editor, Yvonne Ridley.
On Tuesday Baroness Warsi - the first Muslim woman appointed to the Cabinet - resigned as a Foreign Office minister over Britain’s policy on the conflict.
Israel’s military offensive called Operation Protective Edge had the stated aim of preventing rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel and destroying a network of tunnels built by group Hamas.
A humanitarian truce is so far holding in Gaza, halting the four-week conflict.
Dipu Ahad, Labour city councillor for Elswick, said: “Campaign group Al Aqsa say they are overwhelmed at the support they have had from people in Newcastle. They have said the support Labour councillors are giving is also unique to anywhere else.
“We condemn the action against Gaza by raising the flag. It signifies that we are not going to stand by silently.”
A Newcastle City Council spokesperson said:
"No official permission was given for the raising of the Palestinian flag last night and we will now investigate how this happened. It was hoisted by an individual during a peaceful protest held outside the Civic Centre."
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