NEWS GLEAMS | Four-Day Humanitarian Pause in Gaza; Seattle City Council Passes 2024 Budget | #citycouncil

Deal Reached for Four-Day Humanitarian Pause in Gaza

Following weeks of international calls for a cease-fire, the Israeli government and Hamas have finally reached a deal for a four-day humanitarian pause in Gaza, as mediated by governments of the United States, Qatar, and Egypt. As reported by Al-Jazeera, the pause in fighting is expected to go into effect at 10 a.m. local time in Gaza on Thursday, Nov. 23, with the release of captives to begin on Friday. Press release statements from Israel, Hamas, and Qatar can be viewed also on Al-Jazeera.

As part of the truce deal, 50 Hamas-held hostages — women and children who were among the 240 people taken during the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks — will be exchanged for 150 Palestinian prisoners, mostly women and children, who have been held by Israel, often without a charge.

The exact names of the people who will be exchanged have yet to be publicly released, and they will be released by both sides over the course of the four days. The Israeli government has also stated it will be willing to extend the pause in fighting one added day for each additional 10 hostages released by Hamas.

During this pause period, hundreds of vehicles with much-needed humanitarian aid supplies will be allowed into Gaza on a daily basis. International humanitarian agencies have remarked, however, that even such an increase in humanitarian aid will be insufficient for Gaza’s population of over 2 million people, who have been living without food, water, fuel, and medicine for weeks due to Israeli blockades.

Both Hamas and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have vowed that the war will resume as soon as the pause is lifted. After the deal was reached but before the pause officially went into effect, Israel continued its airstrikes, hitting apartment complexes in central and south Gaza, where residents from the north had been told to flee for safety. Residents who have moved south during the past month will not be allowed to move back north during the pause in fighting.

To date, an estimated 1,200 Israelis were killed during the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. Over 14,000 people are dead in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, though the destruction of hospitals in Gaza has led to difficulties in maintaining body counts. A senior U.S. official has also suggested that the numbers could be an undercount.

Seattle City Council Passes 2024 Budget

On Tuesday, Nov. 21, the Seattle City Council voted 8-1 to pass the City’s 2024 budget. The action followed two months of deliberating, listening to public comment, and making adjustments to the 2023–2024 Proposed Mid-Biennial Budget Adjustments first passed down by Mayor Bruce Harrell in late September.

According to PubliCola, the new budget “provides pay increases for human services workers, funds a controversial gunfire-detection system, sets aside money for a new $225-a-shift bonus for cops who direct traffic at concerts and other events, and increases the JumpStart payroll tax to pay for mental health services in public schools. The police bonuses will have to be approved through separate legislation in December. The budget also restores funding for Truleo, an AI-based system that monitors officers’ body camera footage for inappropriate behavior; SPD abruptly stopped using the technology earlier this year.”

There is, however, a projected $218 million budget shortfall in each of the next six budget years, starting in 2025. The current council has yet to find solutions to close that gap and may not before the majority of them leave their City Council terms at the end of this year.

Those who wish to learn more about the approved budget amendment’s can view the City Council’s newly-released interactive budget amendment tool, which allows users to filter by councilmember, City department, budget amendment size, and links to discussion points around each proposed amendment. A short summary of each amendment is also included

The single no vote came from Councilmember Kshama Sawant (District 3), who has voted no on all Seattle City Council budgets during her three terms serving on the Council.

Councilmember Kshama Sawant’s Resolution for a Cease-Fire in Gaza Passes

After a failed attempt earlier this month by Councilmember Kshama Sawant to rally fellow councilmembers to pass a resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, the Seattle City Council has approved an amended resolution. Leading up to the vote, around 70 members of the public, including anti-war activists, showed up to City Hall to testify and demonstrate their support for the resolution.

The amended text calls for “supporting a long-term cease-fire in Israel and occupied Palestine, the return of all hostages, and the delivery of humanitarian aid; and affirming opposition to Antisemitism and Islamophobia,” and takes language from the Ceasefire Now Resolution led nationally by Congresswomen Cori Bush and Rashida Tlaib. In early November, Tlaib was censured by House Democrats and Republicans for her vocal support of the Palestinian cause.

Speaking to the national landscape, Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda wrote in a statement, “If we can pass a cease-fire resolution today we would not be alone — we would join other jurisdictions Detroit, MI; Atlanta, GA; Richmond, CA; Providence, RI; Carrboro, NC; Wilmington, DE; Akron, OH; Cudahy, CA; Easton, PA; Dearborn, MI; Dearborn Heights, MI; Ypsilanti, MI; and Hamtramck, MI. We would join 27 members of Congress — which includes the Jewish member of Congress Becca Balint from Vermont — calls for cease-fire along with our own U.S. Rep. Jayapal. We would join internationally prime ministers and presidents, along with WHO and international humanitarian organizations are also calling for a cease-fire.”

The final vote for the cease-fire resolution was 6 in favor, 0 in opposition, and 3 in abstention.

Vee Hua 華婷婷 (they/them) is a writer, filmmaker, and organizer with semi-nomadic tendencies. Much of their work unifies their metaphysical interests with their belief that art can positively transform the self and society. They are the editor-in-chief of REDEFINE, a co-chair of the Seattle Arts Commission, and a film educator at the interdisciplinary community hub, Northwest Film Forum, where they previously served as executive director and played a key role in making the space more welcoming and accessible for diverse audiences. After a recent stint as the interim managing editor at South Seattle Emerald, they are moving into production on their feature film, Reckless Spirits, which is a metaphysical, multilingual POC buddy comedy. Learn more about them at linktr.ee/hellomynameisvee.

📸 Featured Image: People search a municipality building after an Israeli air strike in the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 10, 2023. Photo via Anas-Mohammed/Shutterstock.com.

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