Council meeting suspended after pro-Palestinian protest

A MEETING at Derry City and Strabane District Council was abandoned last night (Wednesday), after it was disrupted by pro-Palestinian protestors.

Police have since indicated that they are currently making enquiries about the incident, which saw protestors enter the council chamber, some with faces covered, carrying a large banner which read, “Expel the Israeli Ambassador.” The ‘s’ letters on the banner were written like the symbol of the SS, a Nazi military unit.

Protestors said they want council to fully implement previous motions to ban Israeli goods.

Council previously passed BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) motions regarding Israeli goods in 2016 and again in 2018, however these motions have yet to be implemented.

Yesterday the DUP grouping at council referred to the protest as anti-Semitic whilst Mayor Patricia Logue suspended the meeting early saying that some staff had been “unnerved” by the interruption.

However, speaking after the meeting, Strabane independent councillor Paul Gallagher referred to the protest as “peaceful.”

“Twice in this council’s life there were proposals passed on boycotts and sanctions on Israeli goods,” he said. “That’s the corporate position but it hasn’t been implemented.”

He continued, “There is an apartheid regime in Palestine. Previously, when there was an apartheid regime in South Africa, the only thing that worked was BDS – Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions.

“It’s as plain as day that people want council to take action. The public gallery was packed.”

He concluded, “It wasn’t meant to be anti-Semitic. The banner suggests that Israel is acting like the Nazis. That was my interpretation.”