Palestinian flag to fly over Sheffield Town Hall on UN solidarity day

Sheffield City Council has decided to fly the flag on November 29 (Friday) “to demonstrate solidarity and to recognise the thousands of innocent civilians killed, injured, bereaved and displaced as a result of the conflict and humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the wider region”.

This comes after a member of the public asked officers and council members about it at a meeting at the beginning of November.

At the meeting, Cllr Tom Hunt, the leader of Sheffield City Council, said the council had adopted a new flag protocol earlier this year and in line with the said protocol he has requested that the chief executive follow the procedure when considering the request and making the decision.

The chief executive, as the council published, met with members of the affected communities, consulted with political group leaders, requested an Equality Impact Assessment and gathered professional opinions from stakeholders across the city before making a call.

Now, the council has announced it will fly the flag between 9am and 10pm on November 29 (Friday).

Cllr Alexi Dimond from the Sheffield Green Party has told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) the Greens were “relieved” that the council came to the conclusion that the flag could fly on the town hall.

He said: “We are relieved that Sheffield City Council has reached a decision to raise the flag of Palestine on the Town Hall, along with all three other South Yorkshire Local Authorities.

“Palestinians have been the victims of a brutal occupation for 76 years, live under a racist apartheid system, and are being subjected to a genocide which has been going on for over a year.”

Cllr Dimond is now calling for “concrete actions to help bring about an end to the occupation apartheid and genocide in line with rulings from the UN, International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice”.