Barcelona mayor announces suspension of ties with Tel Aviv

The mayor of the Spanish city of Barcelona has announced the suspension of ties with Tel Aviv over Israel's violation of Palestinian people's rights in a "systematic" manner.

Ada Colau announced the decision in a letter to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. She stressed that the city would suspend relations until Israel ended the “systematic violation of the people of Palestine’s human rights.”

“I have decided to temporarily suspend relations with Israel and with the official institutions there – including the twinning agreements with the Tel Aviv City Council – until the Israeli authorities put an end to the system of violations of the Palestinian people and fully comply with the obligations imposed on them by international law and the various United Nations resolutions. We cannot be silent,” she wrote.

According to the mayor, the decision was made after 100 groups and more than 4,000 residents had signed a request to break relations with the occupying regime.

Back in 1998, Barcelona, Tel Aviv and Gaza City had signed a friendship and cooperation agreement.

Palestine welcomes decision

The Palestinian foreign ministry welcomed Barcelona's decision, calling on other cities to follow suit and take similar steps.

It noted that such measures will put pressure on the Israeli regime to stop its violations and crimes against the Palestinian people, their land, sanctities, and rights, and to put an end to all its illegal unilateral measures that undermine peace opportunities, Wafa News Agency reported.

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An independent UN human rights expert denounces Israel for practicing “apartheid” against Palestinians over the past decades, calling on the world community to hold the regime responsible for the crime.

The decision has also been hailed by other pro-Palestinian groups including the Palestinian Boycott Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC).

"Barcelona has become the first city council to suspend ties with apartheid Tel Aviv in solidarity with the Palestinian people, a move that is reminiscent of the historic and courageous city councils that pioneered cutting links with apartheid South Africa," BNC said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the decision has drawn condemnation from Israeli officials who tried to link the move to anti-semitism. Lior Haiat, a spokesperson of the Israeli foreign ministry, claimed on Twitter the decision gives "support to extremists, terrorist organizations and anti-semitism."

Palestine urges UNSC to take practical steps against Israeli apartheid

Palestine

The Israeli regime has killed hundreds of Palestinians who oppose the occupation of their lands by the regime since the 1967 war.

In January alone, the Israeli occupation forces killed 35 Palestinians, including 8 children, while 224 Palestinians, including 61 children, were killed in 2022.

The Israeli regime grants special status to illegal settlers and applies much of Israeli laws to them, however, Palestinians do not have the same legal rights and protections. Human rights groups have stressed that Israel is committing the international crime of apartheid by systematically denying Palestinians equal rights.

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