REMEMBER my remit with this column? I remind everyone often enough about it… I have one basic parameter put around what I write, and that is to keep it local.

I feel that I need to write what I am about to, and I hope to remain within my given remit whilst doing so.

The next meeting of the full council is on Thursday 7 December. The SNP group, via Cllr Sandra Reynolds and Cllr Pam Armstrong, has submitted a motion supporting the call for a ceasefire in the Gaza – Israel Conflict.

In our motion we condemn the horrific killings by Hamas, and the taking of hostages. We reaffirm that there must be an end to the collective punishment of the Palestinian people. We call for an urgent release of all hostages, and an end to the siege of Gaza - to allow essential supplies to reach the civilian people.

Noting the growing calls for an immediate ceasefire from the United Nations and aid agencies, we call on the UK Government to uphold international law and protect all civilians in both Israel and Palestine and to urgently press all parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire.

As a group, we have always supported the position which the First Minister, Humza Yousaf, has taken in this matter, yet we deliberated over bringing a motion forward.

We deliberated because making a statement on this conflict is not directly within the remit of council, we can effect very little change on the situation. It is almost the definition of not local.

And yet it is local.

The events happening in the Middle East matter to each and every member of my group, and to many – we are increasingly finding out – people within this community. And therefore, as leaders within this community, we wanted to use the modest voices we have, in the context of this conflict, to publicly call for a ceasefire; to stand up for what we think is right.

Never before have we felt such a strong sense of the burden of the statement that the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing.

I am so grateful to the people who are, daily, educating me on the context of the conflict. People who have visited the region, who have friends and families living and working there, or who are involved with the organisations providing support to people who are trying to survive without food, water or power. I am so grateful for your generosity of time and your sharing of knowledge and experience to help me better understand.

We hope fervently that our motion will not be required on December 7 because a ceasefire will be in place by then.

If not, we will bring it forward and speak to it. Again, this is something that I have considered deeply. I am trying to educate myself about the conflict. I know that there are clever arguments and well-honed debates regarding the intricacies of events – current and historic – that bring us to where things are in Israel and Palestine.

For me, however, this motion is not, and cannot be, about clever arguments. For me as a mother, my argument is a humanitarian one, and it is foolishly simple: this starts and ends at wanting the killing of innocent children to stop.

In truth, that is all I have to bring to the debate. Please – stop killing children.

This is local. Surely? The growing number of people attending the weekly gatherings on Clyde Square (Saturdays at 2pm), who also peacefully and respectfully call for a ceasefire, certainly feel that this is their business, and something they can and want to comment on.

There is a concert, organised as a fundraiser for Medical Aid for Palestine, which will take place on December 15 at the Thistle Suite (please contact 07974 388821 for more information.)

Our community is, once again, responding to the plight of our neighbours – they just happen to be a little further away this time. Yes, this is local.