Barcelona 'breaks' Israel relations until human rights are respected in Gaza

The Barcelona city council has voted to "break all institutional relations with the current Israeli government" for as long as human rights are not respected in Gaza.

The decision was backed by left-wing parties: The Socialists, Comuns, and Esquerra Repulicana. The city council is solely led by the Socialist party, under Jaume Collboni's mayorship.

The Socialists and Comuns had agreed on an institutional position, which was later backed during the plenary session on Friday, by ERC. The agreement also proposes to break the twin city ties between the Catalan capital and Tel Aviv after Collboni restored them in September, some months after being named city mayor. He had overturned former mayor Ada Colau's decision to break twin city ties.

The statement signed by the Socialists and Comuns reads that ties will be suspended "until international rights return" to Palestine. They first submitted individual motions but then agreed on a joint text. Esquerra backed the joint statement, meanwhile, Junts per Barcelona abstained, and the People's Party and far-right Vox voted against it.

The resolution also includes financial requirements to prevent the city council from working with Israeli government-related companies identified by the United Nations as businesses that "illegally operate in occupied territories, attacking civil, political, financial, social, and cultural rights of Palestinians."

Politicians even say that the Fira de Barcelona exhibition management team cannot host any "Israeli pavilions." The Port of Barcelona is also requested not to dock vessels carrying arms with Israel as their destination.

The Socialists and Comuns call for "an immediate and permanent ceasefire," and urge the Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's government to obey UN resolutions.

Both Barcelona parties condemn Israel for the thousands of victims in Gaza, the blocking of access to humanitarian aid, as well as expanding settlements.