Burnley Council to seek MP's support over West Bank issue

A motion moved by Coun. Bea Foster and seconded by Councillor Shah Hussain was approved at a meeting of the full council.

The agreed motion read as follows: "Residents in Burnley, including those in the interfaith community, are very concerned about what is happening in the Holy Land. This issue has been debated regularly by the Building Bridges in Burnley forum.

“As a town we need to continue to work hard on the relationship between all sections of the community, and the situation in Palestine is of direct relevance to building community cohesion in Burnley.

“It is proposed that the council resolve to send a letter to our local MP to ask him to represent these concerns over the plans of the new Israeli coalition Government to annex part of the occupied West Bank from July 1st 2020.

"This annexation is a breach of International Law, which rejects any acquisition of territory through force and would be a major threat to peace and the two-state solution, which is the official Government policy for all who live in Israel/Palestine.

“As a council, we call on the MP and the Government to speak out against this injustice and support whatever international sanctions are necessary to stop this illegal annexation taking place, which is against numerous UN resolutions."

Coun. Foster said: “I would like to thank the Bishop of Burnley, the Rt Rev. Philip North, and local resident Samina Ali, for speaking so powerfully about this issue at the council meeting.

“I am pleased that the council agrees that, when we see an injustice in the world, we should call it out. I hope the Government listens to the people of Burnley and takes action against the proposed illegal annexation of Palestinian land."