Debate contribution: Gaza Ceasefire Agreement
Debate contribution by Ms Kate Nicholl on .
- MLA
- Ms Kate Nicholl
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 13 October 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Matters of the Day
- Heading
- Gaza Ceasefire Agreement
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5175372
Read the official Assembly record
Text
A Jewish woman approached me a few years ago and said, "What is happening in Gaza is not an orange or green issue: it is a humanitarian issue". As a mother of three children, when I started engaging in the conversations around what was happening in Gaza, the real turning point for me was the death of Hind Rajab. I think about that almost every week. I do not say, "Thank you" to the murder in a car of a terrified child who was waiting to be rescued. I do not say, "Thank you" to anyone who is responsible for the death of any person. You can condemn what happened on 7 October and condemn the genocide that ensued at the same time. It does not have to be either/or. What strikes me about this is that, so often in this Chamber, we hear about Christian values. I do not know, maybe I have not read the Bible that recently, but I learned from it about love and humility, not judging, and the importance of treating people with kindness and respect. There is no justification for what has happened. I started chairing an informal working group with members of the Palestinian community and interested MLAs and activists well over a year and a half ago. I remember a man who had just returned from Gaza coming to talk to us about what he had witnessed. It was harrowing. He talked about walking down a street with a child on his back and praying that the child would not see the dead bodies along the way. What sort of world are we living in where that happens; where children are exposed to that? What sort of world are we living in when politicians justify any violence? This is a moment of hope for Israelis and Palestinians. I watched on TV the hostages being released. I can only imagine what their families went through: the fear for their lives. I can only imagine what they went through. It is awful, but what has happened in Palestine — in Gaza — is also awful. We do not have to make it either/or; we can just make it about humanity. Several Members and I went to a very moving house of mourning with the Palestinian community. It ended in Muslim and Christian prayer, because it is not only Muslims who have been killed; Christians have been killed as well. I hope that this is the start of better for the people in Palestine and Israel. The only way that we can have lasting peace is if there is a two-state solution and people work for our common humanity. There is so much division in our politics and world. We need to remember our humanity, and we need to do better.
466 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.07 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.67).
- Subject area: Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.12 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.03 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.08 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.22 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.07 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.67 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.33 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 0.98 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.02 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:27 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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