Barcelona severs ties with Israeli government over Gaza genocide, Hamas urges global boycott

The motion, backed by the ruling Socialist Party in conjunction with far-left and leftist pro-independence organizations, demands the cessation of all formal relations with Israel “until international law” and the “fundamental rights of the Palestinian people” are reinstated.

Barcelona will also terminate a friendship agreement struck in 1998 with Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and it urged the trade fair organizer Fira de Barcelona to refrain from hosting Israeli pavilions or companies that are engaged in the arms trade or benefiting from the conflict in Gaza.

A similar recommendation is under consideration for the Port of Barcelona, advising it not to receive ships involved in transporting arms to the Israeli-occupied lands.

“The suffering and death in Gaza over the past year and a half, and recent attacks by the Zionist regime, make any relationship unviable,” Barcelona's Mayor Jaume Collboni said during the council session.

It is not the first time Barcelona has moved to suspend ties with Israel. In February 2023, then-mayor Ada Colau cut ties with Tel Aviv due to Israel's apartheid policy towards Palestinians.

 The decision by Spain's second-largest city, which is a prominent tourist destination and home to one of the world’s most famous football clubs, adds to an increasing number of critics opposing Israel's bloody onslaught in Gaza.

Barcelona's move comes a year after Spain, Ireland and Norway officially recognized a Palestinian state in a coordinated decision slammed by Israel.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez stands out as one of the most vocal opponents within the European Union regarding Israel's military actions in Gaza.

He has urged all European Union member states to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement and impose an arms embargo on the usurping Tel Aviv regime.

“It is unacceptable to remain silent in the face of violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza and the killing of more than 50,000 people,” Sánchez said, stressing that there must be no “double standards” between Ukraine and Gaza.

Hamas appreciation

For its part, the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement commended the Barcelona city council's decision to cut ties with the Israeli regime and suspend its so-called friendship agreement with Tel Aviv.

“We urge nations and cities worldwide to activate the boycott of this rogue occupation, isolate it, and hold it accountable for its massacres and the crime of starvation against our people in the Gaza Strip – in support of humanity and the justice of the Palestinian cause,” the group said in a brief statement.

At least 54,381 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and another 124,054 individuals injured in the brutal Israeli military onslaught on Gaza since October 7, 2023.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant, citing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Zionist regime also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the besieged coastal territory.