North Ayrshire Council has pledged a £5000 donation to support charities working in Gaza.

Councillors agreed to donate the sum to fund the work of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) in the UK in recognition of the strain on resources due to the conflict in the region.

Only Largs councillor Conservative Tom Marshall, pictured, didn’t give the move backing, calling on his dissent to be recorded.

The DEC, a group which represents a number of major charities such as the British Red Cross, Christian Aid, Oxfam and Save the Children, launched its Gaza Crisis Appeal in August.

Chief Executive Elma Murray explained that DEC had asked the council to help keep the spotlight on Gaza and to encourage ongoing support to the appeal.

She added: “The appeal was launched after hundreds of thousands of people fled their homes, with many needing not only shelter but food, water, household items and often medical care.

“At the time of the appeal there were 65,000 people in Gaza whose homes had been severely damaged or destroyed. One and a half million people had no, or very limited, access to water or sanitation.

“Many people are living in terribly overcrowded UN shelters.” The Chief Executive added that the DEC only makes requests when there is a clear need for urgent support.

The money will be used to support the DEC charities in the UK as local authorities are not allowed to provide direct overseas aid.

Council Leader Willie Gibson supported the donation and explained that, while he personally supported the Palestinian position in relation to Gaza, the donation was absolutely apolitical.

Local member Councillor Tom Marshall was the only councillor to go against the proposal, asking for his dissent to be recorded. He gave no explanation at the meeting, but later told the News that he does support the DEC in other campaigns, such as the current ebola crisis.

However, he refuted Councillor GIbson’s view that the fund was apolitical and argued that the nature of the conflict meant that any such support was inherently political and was, therefore, not something he could give backing to.