Barcelona to cut ties with Israel and companies backing its actions

BarcelonaBarcelona escalates its stance on Israel, once again "breaking" its sister city relationship "until respect for international law and international humanitarian law is restored, and the basic rights of the Palestinian people are guaranteed." This is outlined in a joint proposal put forward by Mayor Jaume Collboni’s Socialist group and the Comuns party, just hours before it is set to be voted on at Friday’s city council plenary session.

The resolution proposal, accessed by ARA, also includes contractual measures requiring Barcelona City Council to cut ties with pro-Israeli companies. It goes as far as to prohibit Fira de Barcelona from hosting "Israeli pavilions" or exhibitions by arms manufacturers, and bars the Port of Barcelona from allowing ships carrying weapons bound for the Israeli government to dock.

The agreement comes after weeks of negotiations between the two municipal groups over the tone of the proposal. Just seven days ago a draft suggested that Barcelona once again suspend relations with Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and its twinning with Tel Aviv, but only "temporarily", until Israel implemented a ceasefire in Gaza. This marked a reversal of one of Collboni’s earliest decisions in office, when he lifted the suspension enacted by Ada Colau’s administration. Now, in the joint agreement announced this Friday with the Comuns, Collboni commits to going further: not only does he "break off" the twinning with Tel Aviv, but he also adopts a more forceful condemnation of Israel’s attacks on the Palestinian civilian population.

Thus, the proposal by the Socialists and Commons states that the occupation and colonization of Palestinian territories is being carried out through "a set of segregationist practices and collective punishment comparable to apartheid". It calls for an end to the attacks, "an immediate and permanent ceasefire," and urges Netanyahu's government to "activate effective mechanisms, within and outside the United Nations system, including those relating to the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice, to prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity."

The text includes “essential” contractual clauses in all municipal public contracts to ensure that no economic operator or city-owned company engages in financial operations, investments, purchases, or contracts that benefit Israel or support Prime Minister Netanyahu’s arms policies. It also commits the City Council to sever ties with companies identified by the United Nations as “illegally operating in Israeli settlements,” whose activities negatively impact the civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights of the Palestinian people across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.

In the same vein, the proposal also calls for a formal "break in institutional relations" and the suspension of the 1998 friendship and collaboration agreement with Israel. It expresses support for international efforts to convene a peace summit as soon as possible. Additionally, Mayor Collboni’s government commits to urging both the Catalan Generalitat and the Spanish government to urgently impose an arms embargo. The proposal is scheduled to be voted on in today’s plenary session and is expected to pass.