St. Paul City Council unanimously passes Israel-Hamas cease-fire resolution
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The St. Paul City Council unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday calling for an immediate and permanent mutual cease-fire in Israel in Gaza.
The resolution comes after nearly five months of a war that has killed around 30,000 people in Gaza, according to its Hamas-run Health Ministry.
The resolution also calls for the release of all hostages, an end to "unconditional" military aid to Israel from the United States, the facilitation of humanitarian aid and the "condemnation of the use of murder, kidnapping and rape by Hamas."
Protesters representing the Free Palestine Coalition interrupted a St. Paul City Council meeting two weeks ago to call for a cease-fire in the ongoing Isreal-Hamas war, causing it to end early.
During the Feb. 21 meeting, protestors repeatedly came up to the microphone during public comment on a resolution on Como Zoo funding, only to switch the topic to the war in Gaza, despite being warned by the council that they were outside the bounds of procedural rules.
"For countless weeks, organizers across faith, ethnicity, and beliefs demonstrated at City Hall to push our council body to pass a ceasefire resolution. I am grateful for the leadership of the people and commend them for their courage," Councilmember Nelsie Yang said.
Minneapolis City Council passed its own cease-fire resolution earlier this year, though accomplishing that was not without several bumps along the way.