Cambridge City Council has passed a motion calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, and for the UK to stop arming Israel.

The council unanimously passed a motion on Thursday (23/05) calling on the government to “press for an immediate and permanent ceasefire” in the interest of upholding international humanitarian law.

The Council raised its concerns that the UK government’s provision of arms to Israel, which are currently being used in the ongoing conflict, could implicate the government in further human suffering.

“By providing arms and military support to Israel, the UK Government could be complicit in this catastrophe,” the Council stated.

Since 2008, the UK has licensed over £574 million in arms sales to Israel.

This move comes as the Cambridge For Palestine (C4P) encampments continue to occupy space outside King’s College until the University accepts their demands to divest from Israel.

The Council also pledged to “investigate the implications” of stopping banking with Barclays, which has been criticised for investments in companies that supply arms and military technology to Israel.

Cambridge Stop The War (CSTW), a local campaign group, told Varsity that they are “celebrating the victory of the City Council motion,” and claimed the popular support of pro-Palestinian campaigns had played a major role in the decision.

They also added that they will remain “vigilant” to ensure the city council “follows through with their pledge to divest from Barclays”.

Labour councillor Alice Gilderdale said the city council had waited “too long” in realising a motion on the conflict and said they could not “continue to watch the horrors in Gaza without speaking out”.

The Council also asserted that they will continue to condemn “all forms of Islamophobia and Antisemitism” in their effort to make Cambridge “a City of Sanctuary”.

One of C4P’s demands states that Cambridge must become a “University of Sanctuary,” by welcoming students fleeing the conflict in Gaza.

This comes as formal meetings between encampment representatives from Cambridge for Palestine and the University began this Monday.