Israel denies entry to Jaume Collboni

BarcelonaIsraeli authorities have barred Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni from entering the country. He was scheduled to travel to Tel Aviv this Friday afternoon for an official trip during which he was scheduled to meet with mayors from the region.

Although the mayor's request had initially been approved, the Israeli government revoked Collboni's permit "at the last minute and without any justification," the city council said in a statement. The mayor and the rest of the delegation—made up of municipal technicians and journalists—were traveling to the Middle East at the invitation of the mayors of the Palestinian cities of Bethlehem and Ramallah.

The mayor's visit, which had received approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, included contacts with high-level Palestinian authorities, such as Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Mustafa and other members of the executive branch. Among other things, it included meetings with the mayors of Bethlehem, Maher Nicola Canawati; Ramallah, Issa Kassis; and in Jordan with the mayor of Amman, Youssef al-Shawarbeh. The council also planned to visit B'Tselem organizations.who in July accused his government of committing genocide in Gaza— and Peace Now, and in Ramallah, the mayor was scheduled to participate in the inauguration ceremony for Barcelona Street in the Palestinian city. In addition, two floral offerings were planned at the respective tombs of the historic Israeli and Palestinian leaders, Yissr Rabin and Yasser Arafat, winners of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994, and a visit to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem.

"The decision to prevent access to a delegation that seeks precisely dialogue is a hostile act," the City Council said in a statement issued through Instagram, in which it described the gesture as a "direct attack on freedom and diplomacy between cities." "The Israeli government seeks to isolate the Palestinian people and hide from the world the constant violation of human rights they suffer," it added.

For their part, Israeli immigration authorities assert that Collboni's visa application was rejected for defamation of Israel and for his participation in a boycott in the country, according to local media reports. In May, Barcelona City Council severed institutional ties with Israel and suspended its friendship agreement with Tel Aviv "until respect for international law is restored and the basic rights of Palestinians are respected."

Israel justified the veto by the City Council's decision to "boycott the State of Israel," diplomatic sources confirmed to ACN, warning that this boycott "has consequences." Benjamin Netanyahu's government considers the plenary motion a "manifestation of a systematically hostile and inciting policy against Israel and its citizens" and maintains that "it is unacceptable that someone who acts to boycott Israel and sever ties can be considered a welcome guest," the same sources point out.

In response, the PSC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) has called on the European Union to suspend the Association Agreement with Israel. Javi López, a member of the PSC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) and Vice-President of the European Parliament, has demanded that this preferential collaboration agreement with Tel Aviv be broken "until the massacre in Gaza ceases" and "international law is respected." Laura Ballarín, also a member of the PSC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) has directly requested a "forceful" response from the High Representative for the Head of European Diplomacy, Kaja Kallas.

Deterioration of Relations

The first diplomatic gesture Jaume Collboni made upon taking office at Barcelona City Council was to reestablish the twinning relationship with Tel Aviv, thus reversing the suspension imposed by his predecessor, Ada Colau. Two months later, Hamas killed 1,139 civilians, and Israel responded with a land, sea, and air offensive against Gaza that has left more than 62,000 dead. Since then, Barcelona's relations with Tel Aviv have continued to deteriorate, culminating in the final rupture at the end of May.

At the end of November 2023, the City Council plenary suspended institutional relations with the current Israeli government—without affecting ties with Tel Aviv—and called for a "definitive ceasefire." However, a year later, a court annulled the plenary's declaration due to a lack of legal grounds. In another gesture to continue pressuring Netanyahu's government to respect Palestinian rights, in May 2024, Barcelona joined the official recognition of the State of Palestine—previously announced by the central government—and reiterated the call for a ceasefire. In May 2025, the city council severed ties with Tel Aviv, a gesture that included suspending municipal contracts with Israeli companies, banning events, and adhering to peace initiatives. This trip was intended to finally seal the alliance with Palestinian entities and the city council's commitment to pressuring Israel to end the siege of Gaza.