Pro-Palestine protest disrupts council meeting

Protesters were removed from Newcastle Civic Centre by police officers

A council meeting on Tyneside was stalled for the second time in six weeks after pro-Palestine protesters disrupted proceedings.

Councillors were ushered from Newcastle Civic Centre's meeting chamber following chanting from the public gallery.

Demonstrators unfurled a Palestinian flag and shouted "Ceasefire now" and "Shame on you" before being removed by police.

Council leader Nick Kemp said he understood the "anger" expressed and that he shared the protesters' calls for peace in Gaza and Israel.

The protestors carried out their latest demonstration on Wednesday, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Dozens of people gathered at the rear of the building ahead of the local authority's annual budget-setting meeting.

A small number were allowed into the public gallery to observe the meeting before they began disrupting proceedings after about 30 minutes.

The chamber was emptied for a few minutes while the demonstrators were ordered to leave by police. The meeting then resumed.

'Share calls for peace'

In December, the Labour-run council was presented with a petition signed by more than 4,000 people calling on the authority to "speak out in support of an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the cessation of Israeli air and ground assaults on Gaza".

Protesters gathered outside Newcastle Civic Centre ahead of the meeting

Mr Kemp said the Labour group had already given support to five separate requests within the petition, including calling for an end to Israel's siege and denouncing antisemitism and Islamophobia.

However, the council stopped short of calling for a ceasefire.

"We understand the anger of some members of our community in relation to the conflict in Gaza and Israel," Mr Kemp explained.

"I share their calls for peace in the region and an end to the loss of innocent lives.

"The council has always condemned Hamas’s appalling attacks and killing of civilians in Israel, and the collective punishment and killing of Palestinians in Gaza by the Israeli government."

He called on the Newcastle Council of Faiths and community groups to ensure Newcastle remained a City of Sanctuary which welcomes refugees and other people seeking safety.

In a recent statement, Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "The military campaign is designed to destroy Hamas, return all of our hostages and ensure that Gaza never again constitutes a threat to Israel."