ROCKFORD, Illinois (WIFR) – All but two members of the Rockford City Council voted against adopting a ceasefire resolution regarding the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East.

The result sparked an outcry from Palestine supporters who packed the council chambers for Monday night’s meeting.

Those who support Israel also attended. Tension grew when Councilwoman Gina Meeks tried to abstain from the vote, but the city’s legal director says council members can’t do so unless there is a conflict of interest. Otherwise, a vote must be taken to allow abstention.

That vote also failed, resulting in Meeks voting against it. Council members Aprel Prunty and Bill Rose were the only ones in favor.

Goldie Pekarsky, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Rockford, says: “You can’t end the war prematurely because then Hamas will win. “They can regroup, they have done it before, they have attacked Israel several times since 2005. So if you stop the war now, Hamas starts again and attacks Israel again and again, as they promise to do.”

Lamis Diab, founder of the local group Rockford for Palestine, says: “Some people think this has nothing to do with Rockford, but I think passing a ceasefire resolution through the city council will show the people of Rockford and the state and will eventually end up on the president’s desk if it makes it through the state legislature, which is the idea that the people of Rockford do care about human lives.”

Copyright 2024 WIFR. All rights reserved.