Protestors demand St. Paul City Council consider Gaza ceasefire resolution

Driving the news: Ceasefire advocates who packed the gallery at St. Paul City Hall on Wednesday were outraged when the council ended its meeting without taking up their cause.

• As council president Mitra Jalali gaveled the meeting to a close, council member Nelsie Yang made a last-minute attempt to introduce a ceasefire resolution. Jalali declared the meeting adjourned.

Friction point: Jalali has said there's not enough support on the council to pass a Gaza resolution. As council president, she has the power to keep the item off the agenda.

• Yang acknowledged to reporters her motion to introduce the resolution at Wednesday's would have failed even if she'd made it during the meeting.

What they're saying: Yang wants to force the council to take up the issue, saying activists are "protesting towards justice and liberation."

• "Stop saying, 'Well, there's not enough votes and that's why I'm staying out of this,'" Yang said. "Well, where do you personally stand? … You know what I'm getting from my colleagues? Silence."

The other side: There's a process for introducing legislation before the council, and Jalali said no council member has started it.

• "If any [council member] wants to bring a resolution, they work on language with their colleagues, work to gain their support, and then work with my office to introduce it," she told Axios via email.

The intrigue: Outside council chambers, Jalali has joined other leaders urging Democrats to vote "uncommitted" in the presidential primary — a campaign meant to send a message against President Biden's policy on the conflict.

The fine print: Yang shared the language she hopes to introduce, which she said was drafted by the Free Palestine Coalition.

• In Minneapolis, wrangling over the exact verbiage was emotional.