Sheffield Greens say Israel flag should not have flown at Town Hall

Speaking after protesters yesterday (October 10) scaled Sheffield Town Hall to take down an Israel state flag and replace it with a Palestinian one during a protest, Coun Alexi Dimond said: “Sheffield Green Party opposed raising the Israeli flag on the Town Hall.

“Hamas’ attack on civilians is a horrendous war crime, and so is the Israeli occupation, with its system of apartheid and current and frequent indiscriminate bombing of innocent civilians and the infrastructure they rely on.

“Gaza comprises a captive civilian population of 2.3 million people with nowhere to go, two-thirds of whom are refugees and half of whom are children. Cutting off water, food and medicine and targeting civilians are war crimes under international law.

“It would be more appropriate for the council to raise the Peace Flag above the Town Hall to show our opposition to all acts of terror by whoever commits it.”

Green Party national co-leader Adrian Ramsay said: “Our first thoughts are with the hundreds of innocent victims who are faced with the devastating and escalating violence. Most civilians caught up in the conflict have an overriding desire to live in peace.

“The Green Party calls for an immediate end to the violence in Israel and Palestine. The targeting of civilians is an outrageous breach of international law and is unacceptable under all circumstances.

“We urge the international community to take immediate steps to protect civilian life and infrastructure from attack, and to launch immediate humanitarian relief efforts.

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“The long absence of a meaningful political dialogue and peace process has created a vacuum, which has been filled by those who offer violence as a solution. The pathway to ending these waves of violence and bringing about a long-term political settlement must begin with an end to illegal occupation.

“The UN Security Council, of which the UK is a permanent member, must act to prevent the spread of the conflict to neighbouring states such as Lebanon and Iran. They have so far failed to agree any new political initiative to address the fundamental causes of these latest acts of violence.

"For the sake of thousands of people on both sides in this conflict, they urgently need to do so.”