PALESTINIAN supporters lobbied Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) councillors ahead of a full council meeting today, urging them to support a ceasefire in Gaza and divestment from Israel.

RCT Palestine Solidarity Campaign members organised the rally after the council decided not to debate a motion on Gaza at its July meeting.

Local PSC chair Andrew Draper said: “It’s enormously frustrating that bureaucracy prevents locally elected councillors from debating and voting on one of the most urgent matters of the day: that of a genocide being perpetrated in Gaza by the Israeli state and its enablers.

“We appreciate the efforts of supportive councillors to get the motion debated and cannot understand why there is not more urgency from the council leadership to hold a debate. 

“We had hoped an emergency business arrangement would have secured a few minutes of RCT councillors’ time at their July meeting.”

The local campaigners said that with some 40,000 people dead and many still buried under rubble, a sense of urgency by the council would be welcome.

“We will not give up on our efforts to have Palestinians’ voices heard in the council chamber and some individual councillors gave us their support at the lobby,” Mr Draper said.

“Our motion calls for the council to support calls for a ceasefire, for divestment of pension funds from companies complicit in genocide and for the setting up of an apartheid-free zone in RCT.”

The latter would encourage consumers and businesses to boycott Israeli goods and services.

RCT council was asked to comment.