Barcelona Cuts Ties with Israel Over Gaza Human Rights

City council votes to freeze relations with Israel and suspend twin city status with Tel Aviv until rights are upheld in Gaza

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Barcelona Cuts Ties with Israel Over Gaza Human Rights

Barcelona is making international headlines after its city council voted to suspend all institutional ties with the Israeli government — a bold political move grounded in concerns over human rights violations in Gaza.

The resolution, passed on Friday, demands that ties remain broken “until international rights return” to Palestine. The vote was supported by left-leaning parties, including the Socialists, Comuns, and Esquerra Republicana (ERC), while Junts per Barcelona abstained. The People’s Party and far-left Vox opposed the decision.

The Catalan capital will also suspend its twin city status with Tel Aviv, a reversal of Mayor Jaume Collboni’s 2023 move to restore the relationship after former mayor Ada Colau had ended it. Collboni leads the city under the Socialist party.

In addition to the symbolic break, the resolution packs some real-world policy punches:

No more city partnerships with Israeli government-affiliated companies listed by the UN as operating illegally in occupied territories.
Fira de Barcelona, one of Europe's biggest trade show venues, has been asked not to host Israeli pavilions.
The Port of Barcelona is urged not to dock vessels carrying arms bound for Israel.

The Socialists and Comuns also called for an “immediate and permanent ceasefire” and demanded that the Netanyahu government respect United Nations resolutions.

Both parties slammed Israel for the "thousands of victims in Gaza", its blockade on humanitarian aid, and the ongoing expansion of settlements.

While the vote doesn’t impact Spain’s national foreign policy, it sends a clear message from one of the country’s most influential cities — Barcelona is putting human rights first and taking a stand in the global debate over the Israel-Palestine conflict.

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Barcelona Cuts Ties with Israel Over Gaza Human Rights

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