Merced City Council to discuss potential resolution supporting call for Gaza ceasefire
The council member requesting the discussion has previously spoken out about the rising number of deaths among civilians in the war
By BRIANNA VACCARI
brianna@cvlocaljournalism.org
A member of the Merced City Council is asking his colleagues to consider calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, potentially following in the steps of another California city.
Councilmember Fue Xiong requested the discussion item for Monday’s City Council meeting. The agenda only calls for discussion – and the council is not scheduled to vote on such a resolution this week.
Xiong previously spoke out on the issue in October after the conflict began, condemning the increasing deaths among civilians in Gaza. “There are countless documentations of Israel violating global human rights, upholding an apartheid state and institutionalized oppression against Palestinians,” Xiong said.
Following that council meeting, a few residents submitted messages criticizing those and other remarks Xiong made, but some also spoke out in support.
The war was sparked after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7. As of Dec. 12, the death toll of the war has been 1,200 in Israel and 18,412 in Gaza, according to a CNN report based on numbers from the United Nations Office of Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs, the Israeli Defense Forces and the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Ministry of Health. Millions more have been displaced in the Gaza Strip.
Xiong is using the City of Richmond’s ceasefire resolution as an example of what he’d like to see the Merced City Council consider.
As the war in Gaza continues, the U.S. has seen a rise in hate crimes toward both Jews and Muslims.
UC Merced’s student senate recently passed two resolutions related to the conflict. University students across the Valley have protested the war, largely supporting the rights of Palestinians.
The Merced City Council will meet at 6 p.m. on Monday in the Merced City Council Chamber of the Merced Civic Center, located at 678 W. 18th St.
Brianna Vaccari is the government accountability/watchdog reporter for the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative, a nonprofit newsroom based in Merced.