I'm asking for Newark City Council to call for a permanent ceasefire in Palestine and pass the following resolution.

A RESOLUTION ORDERING A PERMANENT CEASEFIRE AND END TO THE OCCUPATION OF ALL PALESTINIAN LANDS

WHEREAS: International Organizations such as the United Nations, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch have called for a ceasefire in Gaza as violence in the Gaza Strip has surpassed 120 days; and

WHEREAS: Newark organizations and individuals such as Congressman Donald Payne, CAIR-NJ, People's Organization for Progress, Newark Water Coalition, AFSCME Local 2298, Pax Christi NJ, Teaching While Muslim, AMP-NJ, National Lawyer’s Guild Rutgers Newark, Rutgers Newark Muslim Law Students Association, Rutgers Newark Students for Justice in Palestine, Rutgers for Palestine and more have echoed these calls for a ceasefire of the violence in Gaza; and

WHEREAS: Israel has imposed an air, sea, and land blockade on Gaza, restricting the movement of people and goods and controlling access to basic necessities for Palestinian people living in Gaza, rendering Gaza an “open air prison” since 2007; and

WHEREAS: The Israeli blockade of Gaza created a shortage of clean drinking water, food, and jobs for the Palestinian people for 16 years prior to October 7, 2023; and

WHEREAS: In August of 2023, there were over 1,200 Palestinian people illegally held by the state of Israel without charge or trial; and

WHEREAS: Even before the October 7 attacks, 2023 was the deadliest year for Palestinian people in the West Bank since the UN began tracking in 2005, resulting in over 200 Palestinians killed by the State of Israel, at a rate of nearly one per day; and

WHEREAS: On October 7, 2023, Hamas military forces launched an attack against Israel, taking over 200 hostages and resulting in the deaths of almost 700 Israeli civilians and 375 Israeli military personnel; and

WHEREAS: On October 8, 2023, the Cabinet of Israel formally declared war against Hamas, and the Israeli Defense Minister ordered a “total siege” on Gaza cutting off food, fuel, water, and, intermittently, telecommunications to Palestinians; and

WHEREAS: More than 27,000 Palestinian civilians including over 10,000 children in Gaza, and 372 Palestinian people including 94 children in the West Bank, have been killed by Israeli forces and illegal Israeli settlers since October 7; and

WHEREAS: More than 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been internally displaced, nearly 70% of Gazan homes and half of all buildings have been damaged or destroyed, and every university in Gaza has been destroyed ; and

WHEREAS: Over 350,000 Gazan citizens with chronic illnesses do not have access to medicines or treatment, there are no functioning hospitals remaining in Northern Gaza, and less than 6 ambulances remain for Gaza’s 2.3 million; and

WHEREAS: Israel has engaged in targeted attacks on civilian infrastructure, including homes, hospitals, refugee camps, mosques, churches, colleges, and Israeli-designated evacuation corridors; and

WHEREAS: There has been a reported 300% increase in miscarriages amongst pregnant people and the UN has estimated that there are 700,000 people experiencing menstrual cycles who do not have access to basic hygiene products; and

WHEREAS: On January 11, 2024 South Africa presented its case against Israel for violation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. South Africa alleged that Israel’s acts are “genocidal in character” including “killing Palestinians in Gaza, causing them serious bodily and mental harm, and inflicting on them conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction,” with the intention “to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group”. Over 1,000 organizations worldwide and 80 countries were in support of South Africa’s call for provisional measures to end Israel’s genocidal assault; and

WHEREAS: On January 26, the International Court of Justice determined that Israel’s actions in Gaza are plausibly genocidal and indicated provisional measures, calling for Israel to implement immediate steps to prevent the commission of genocidal acts and enable the provision of humanitarian assistance to prevent further violation of the genocide convention; and

WHEREAS: On January 26, President Biden suspended funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which provides relief and aid to over 2 million displaced Palestinian people in Gaza and nearly 6 million Palestinian refugees, and as a result of this suspension, UNRWA is at risk of fully shutting down by the end of February; and

WHEREAS: The Mayor of Newark, in his first statement on October 16, 2023, urged "all those who love peace and justice to oppose attacks on innocent civilians as a way to solve conflict"; and

WHEREAS: the City Council of the City of Newark and Newark residents use our voices to stand firmly against all acts of racially motivated violence and hate crimes perpetrated against Jewish, Muslim, Palestinian, and Arab residents in Newark and around the United States; and

WHEREAS: The City of Newark has a longstanding history of opposing injustice, both at home and abroad, to support oppressed and colonized peoples everywhere.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, THAT:

1. The City of Newark calls for an immediate, durable, and sustained ceasefire, an end to the occupation and colonization of all Arab lands, the immediate release of all Palestinian political prisoners and detainees, and the immediate issuance of adequate food, water, and medical resources to Palestine.

2. The City of Newark calls on its congressional delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives to co-sponsor House Resolution 786 calling for an immediate ceasefire in occupied Palestine.

3. The City of Newark demands the state of New Jersey cease the transfer of Newark tax payer dollars from its residents to the state of Israel for use in occupying and oppressing the lands and people of Palestine.

4. The City of Newark calls on President Biden to immediately reinstate full funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

5. The City of Newark demands President Biden end all military funding and weapons sales to the state of Israel.