The Mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, took last Wednesday the controversial decision to “temporarily” break ties with Israel in response to the Palestinian occupation. Acclaimed by some and criticized by others, the diplomatic decision has not left anyone indifferent. This same Sunday, they have appeared in RamallahPalestine, two posters thanking the city of Barcelona that have been shared on networks by activists.
“From Palestine, thanks Barcelona”, can be read on an image of the Sagrada Familia. “We salute you, Barcelona”, can be read on another poster. The break in relations between the city of Barcelona and Israel For now, the twinning that unites the Catalan capital with the second most populous city in Israel has been annulled, Tel Aviv, as advocated by 112 entities that consider the entente incompatible with the occupation of Palestine.
“The mayoress of the Barcelona city council freezes relations with the apartheid Israeli regime, which includes eliminating the twinning agreement with Tel Aviv,” reads in Arabic below the photo of the Sagrada Familia.
Gesture celebrated by activists
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“It means a lot to us to have the support of one of the most important and most important and influential cities in the world. Barcelona is a very important city and it attracts a lot of media attention, as well as its politics and economy. In this sense, this recognition is very important, above all for the reason, which is not wanting to support a state that is committing a crime of apartheid“, assures EL PERIÓDICO Shadia Ez-Zaher, activist for Human Rights and student of the master’s degree in diplomacy.
The Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), welcomes the Barcelona Mayor’s suspension of all institutional ties with ‘Israel’ “until Israeli authorities put an end to the systematic violation of the people of Palestine’s human rights.” pic.twitter.com/pEsZWXgo4f
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) February 9, 2023
“On the other hand, the statement specifies that relations will not be resumed until Israel respects the rights of the Palestinian people, something that is an enormous recognition and gives us hopes to believe that other cities and other countries could later follow Barcelona’s example”, he adds. “It is the only way to achieve real change, with international pressure. It is something that a few years ago seemed impossible and nobody imagined that important European cities could make this type of decision,” he ditch.
VICTORY FOR PALESTINE: The Mayor of Barcelona suspends relations with apartheid ‘israel’ including its twinning agreement with Tel Aviv, until the rights of the #Palestinian people are respected. #FreePalestine #BoycottIsrael pic.twitter.com/1J4FWtOVO4
— #Africa4Palestine (@Africa4Pal) February 8, 2023