Barcelona ends twin city agreement with Tel Aviv, citing Israeli 'apartheid'
Barcelona’s Mayor Ada Colau said that thousands of residents in her city signed a petition to sever ties with Tel Aviv so as to pressure Israel on Palestinian human rights.
Madrid Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida offered on Thursday Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai to form a twin city partnership after Barcelona announced it was suspending its own agreement with the Israeli city. In a video posted on Twitter, conservative Martínez-Almeida said, “It’s a great occasion to show Tel Aviv, and by extension all of Israel, that Madrid remains clear on which is the correct side to stand on. Clear that we need to strengthen our relations with a democracy, a state of law, like Israel. We won’t go along, won’t agree with any behavior which smells of antisemitism. This has no place in our society.”
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Barcelona’s Mayor Ada Colau claimed that more than 100 organizations and over 4,000 citizens demanded she defend the human rights of Palestinians.
