Calderdale councillors back calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, after an emotional debate at full council meeting

The motion also calls for the return to Israel of all hostages and for Gazans to have proper access to food and water, medical supplies and health services, with UK government to call for a key UN funding pause for aid to be lifted.

Beyond that, a long-lasting solution allowing states to live in peace must be found, they agreed.

Coun Silvia Dacre’s (Lab, Todmorden) motion also said the council resolved to “record its unequivocal condemnation of the conduct of the Israeli government in its campaign, which has meant 1.5 million people have been displaced, some several times”.

And “unequivocally condemn the terrorist attacks by Hamas against civilians in Israel, including the use of violence against women and girls”.

The motion had successfully replaced a Liberal Democrat motion which Coun Abigail Carr (Lib Dem, Warley) said had important elements Labour’s otherwise worthy one excluded, notably bringing local MPs – Halifax Labour MP Holly Lynch and Calder Valley Conservative Craig Whittaker – to bear on speaking to their parties nationally, and recognising Palestinian territory.

But no councillors voted against the ultimately successful motion and the emotional nature of the debate saw the Conservatives offer to withdraw their motion on supporting Calderdale’s rural communities which, though important, could not have followed.

Conservative leader Coun Steven Leigh (Con, Ryburn) said: “May I suggest in view of the great import of what we have been talking about that we withdraw our motion.”

His deputy, Coun Howard Blagbrough (Con, Brighouse) agreed. “It has been extremely emotional, it has been quite harrowing,” he said.

Before the debate, a chanting protester – seeming largely to be critical of Labour’s stance nationally over a ceasefire – had to be removed from the public seating, although an earlier lobbying of councillors entering Halifax Town Hall had been noisy, with drums and chanting, but peaceful.

Coun Carr acknowledged both Labour and Conservative councillors might face restraints her Liberal Democrats and the Greens did not but urged councillors to break party ranks.

“Sometimes humanity has to trump politics, it just does,” she said.

Coun Carr said the Middle East conflict had already produced “mind-blowing” numbers of people who had died, including 1,200 in Hamas’ attack, 153 United Nations workers just there to provide humanitarian relief, and more than 28,000 Palestinians, a figure which would already be out of date.

Supporting her, Coun Paul Bellenger (Lib Dem, Greetland and Stainland) said councillors became the voice for those who did not have a voice.

“We have watched with horror the atrocities which have taken place in Gaza, where nearly 30,000 innocent lives have been taken due to Israel’s heavy-handed and senseless approach to dealing with Hamas,” he said.

Coun Dacre said Labour’s motion encompassed all the heartfelt views that had been expressed.

“We think about the horrific, brutal assault by Hamas on October 7, over 1,000 deaths, sexual violence used as a weapon, 250 hostages including the elderly and children, about 130 hostages remaining, to the anguish of their families.

“That event has a terrifying historical resonance for Jewish people.

“Then we turn to the response of the Israeli government, the use of overwhelming firepower, obliterating neighbourhoods, killing it must be approaching 30,000 people on realistic estimates,” she said.

Supporting her, Coun Ann Kingstone (Lab, Skircoat) said it was difficult not to despair but there had been other conflicts which seemed endless until they ended, for example in South Africa and Northern Ireland.

“Hatred, demonising the other, only perpetuates the ongoing impasse between two traumatised peoples that have deep roots in the same land,” she said.

Coun Colin Hutchinson (Lab, Skircoat) said people had a right to expect more than “hand-wringing” – “they rightly expect us to speak out for the voiceless to those who are in a position to halt the killing,” he said.

Both Coun Helen Rivron (Lab, Ovenden) and Coun Shazad Fazal (Lab, Park) spoke out about the people of Gaza, after Hamas’s attack, being subject to “collective punishment” which the United Nations says is a war crime.

Coun Fazal said: “The death and destruction in Gaza is unimaginable” and when people spoke about Israel’s right to defence, did not the Palestinians also have rights?

The question of the UK arming Israel was raised by Coun Dave Veitch (Lab, Elland), adding he wanted to make it clear he condemned violence on both sides.

Coun Martin Hey (Green, Northowram and Shelf), said that “if there’s a will in Washington and London”, they could stop arming Israel.

Coun Jenny Lynn (Lab, Park) said: “We must keep raising our voices, to say this is unbearable, this has to stop.”

International intervention would be necessary to bring the sides together to bring about a lasting peace – currently what the world was seeing was one of its most advanced military powers attacking a group of largely unarmed civilians, many of them children, said Coun Dan Sutherland (Lab, Illingworth and Mixenden), questioning the terminology of a ceasefire as “a cessation of hostilities”.

“For me, that is not a war or a conflict, it is a massacre and we should be doing much more as a country, as a council, in politics and what other groups we are in, to bring forward an immediate end to all hostilities that happen in that area and enforce a lasting peace,” he said.

Coun Danielle Durrans (Lab, Ovenden) said some constituents had family experiencing challenges in Gaza and it was important to keep the emotional connection to all those there as they were all someone’s family.