Sacramento City Council chambers cleared, arrests made as resolution introduced calling for ceasefire in Gaza, Israel

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg brought a resolution to the Sacramento City Council Tuesday, calling for a bilateral ceasefire in Israel and Gaza.

The council meeting began at 5 p.m. and after multiple recesses and warnings to the audience to stay quiet during public comment, the chambers were ordered to clear at 9 p.m. People who refused to clear the chambers were arrested by Sacramento Police Department officials. It’s unclear the exact number of arrested at this time. 

Just after 11 p.m., the chambers reconvened and the council was able to discuss the public comment and resolution. The resolution had not been voted on as of 11:30 p.m. Tuesday night.

Emotions ran high throughout the night as dozens of residents and advocates spoke before the city council. 

“This resolution calling for a ceasefire is important and symbolic as it will apply pressure on federal leaders to act quickly to save lives,” said Basim El-Karra, Director of CAIR Sacramento Valley/Central California.

People had a problem with how the resolution was written, others supported it and some didn’t think it was necessary at all. 

“There are misstatements in the resolution,” said Pam Herman, Interim CEO Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region. “We don’t feel that a resolution from our city council is an appropriate way to go about this.” 

Steinberg’s office says the resolution follows months of discussions with community members.

His office says this resolution recognizes both the importance of a safe and secure Israel, as well as an independent Palestinian state. It condemns the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, calls for the release of hostages along with humanitarian aid to Gaza, and acknowledges Israel’s response has left 25,000 dead in Gaza and more than 70,000 wounded.

“In the midst of great mourning, anger and fear over the war in the Middle East, I’m calling on our community to once again choose hope over continued division,” Mayor Steinberg said. “The resolution contains language important to all sides. It also includes some provisions that each side would write differently if they wrote it themselves. That is the nature of principled compromise. We may not be able to create peace in the Middle East, but we can model what we want to see throughout the world here in our own city.”

The resolution is supported by prominent members of the Jewish community, leaders of the Sacramento Valley Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and members of the inter-faith community.

WATCH MORE ON ABC10: Protesters calling for cease-fire in Gaza disrupt first day of California legislative session