NEW YORK: Some 70 US cities have passed resolutions on the Israel-Gaza war with most calling for a ceasefire, a Reuters analysis of city data shows, placing more pressure on President Joe Biden ahead of November’s general election to help end the fighting.
At least 47 cities have passed symbolic resolutions calling for a halt to Israel’s Gaza bombardment, with six others passing resolutions advocating more broadly for peace.
At least 20 have passed resolutions condemning Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which sparked the current bloodshed.
Most of the ceasefire resolutions have passed in Democratic states like California, though at least 14 have passed in swing states like Michigan that could be decisive in Biden’s reelection bid against Republican former President Donald Trump.
Biden’s administration has rebuffed calls for a ceasefire, something supported by a majority of Americans, arguing that an Israeli halt would embolden Hamas. Critics of the city resolutions say they have no tangible effect on national policy and distract from domestic issues.
Gabriela Santiago-Romero, a Detroit council member who voted to pass a ceasefire resolution in Michigan’s biggest city in November, said it reflected frustration, particularly by younger officials and people of color, with Biden and other national Democratic party leaders.
“We want leadership that is willing to listen to us,” Santiago-Romero said.
