Displaced Palestinians arrive in central Gaza after fleeing from the southern Gaza city of Rafah in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, on Thursday, May 9, 2024. The Israeli army has ordered tens of thousands of people to evacuate Rafah as it conducts a ground operation there.
Usually concerned with mundane and routine governance topics such as garbage contracts, public safety issues, infrastructure and banning synthesized industrial hemp, the alders find themselves being asked to get involved in a war half a world away. “This is not something in our wheelhouse,” the mayor said. “We have enough issues right here, and I have to stay focused on Waukegan,” Taylor said it is up to the alders to place the Gaza resolution on the agenda.
Waukegan to Gaza is a long way, as are hopes for a Palestinian state that dates from the Persian Empire through the Roman Empire, the Ottoman Empire and the British mandate. But supporters of a Gaza resolution believe in some way if local officials call for a ceasefire, Israel will acknowledge it somehow on the world’s diplomatic stage.
About 252 Israelis were abducted by Hamas fighters, with an estimated 128 — including eight Americans — still remaining captives. Another 36 hostages have been declared dead by Israeli authorities, while the country lost another 1,200 citizens on Oct. 7.