2 municipal council members in Switzerland resign over rejection of aid to Gaza

​​​​​​​By Muhammet Ikbal Arslan

FRIBOURG (AA) - Two municipal council members in Switzerland’s canton of Fribourg resigned in protest Wednesday after it rejected financial aid to Palestine.

Rana Bassil and Gerald Collaud stepped down after the Council voted not to provide humanitarian aid to Palestinians through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Bassil lambasted the "unacceptable" decision.

“I have decided to resign so as not to be complicit in this inhumane decision. Accepting this vote is very painful, especially when we consider that the city previously sent 200,000 Swiss francs to other people in a state of war. I cannot accept this double standard," he said.

The Council rejected a proposed donation of 40,000 Swiss francs in aid to Gaza.

The Fribourg City Council approved 200,000 Swiss francs in assistance to Ukrainian refugees three years ago.