Gaza

Unionist politicians today succeeded in preventing the Northern Ireland Assembly from passing a motion that demanded an end to the Israeli blockade of Gaza.

The vote was held after independent members of the legislature forced an emergency debate on the issue.

But despite support for the motion from Sinn Féin, the SDLP and the cross-community Alliance Party, the main unionist groupings successfully voted as a bloc to topple the measure.

Unionists used Assembly rules to ensure that separate majorities were required among both the unionist and the nationalist benches before the motion could be passed.

A special sitting of the power-sharing Assembly was held last Friday to debate the issue, with the cross-community vote held today.

The debate had heard republican calls for an end to all Israeli/Palestinian hostilities and a renewed international effort to develop a peace process in the Middle East.

But the DUP and the UUP claimed the motion was effectively anti-Israeli.

While supporters of the motion said the success of the North's peace process should be used to inspire progress in other global trouble spots, unionists said foreign policy was not a devolved matter and so should be left to Westminster.

Today senior DUP politicians Gregory Campbell and Environment Minister Edwin Poots repeated their belief that the special debate should not have been held.

DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds also objected to the fact that Assembly members need only secure the support of thirty Stormont politicians to force a special sitting.

But his claim that there was public concern over the decision to hold a special debate on the Middle East was rejected by one of the independents who forced the discussion.

Dr Kieran Deeny said issues of global humanitarian concern should be discussed at the Assembly, which he said should not restrict its interests to Northern Ireland issues.

"Surely we can't sit and watch the world through 'Six County' glasses," he said.