Barcelona severs ties with Tel Aviv over Gaza conflict

Barcelona’s city council has voted to cut all institutional ties with the Israeli government and suspend its longstanding friendship agreement with Tel Aviv. The decision responds to what the council described as repeated violations of international law and the rights of the Palestinian people.

The motion passed with support from the governing Socialist party and several left-wing and pro-independence factions. It demands an end to official relations with Israel until international law is upheld and the fundamental rights of Palestinians are respected.

Among the measures approved is the suspension of a friendship agreement signed in 1998 with Tel Aviv-Jaffa. The council also called on Fira de Barcelona, one of Europe’s leading trade fair organisers, to refuse participation from Israeli government pavilions or companies involved in arms trading or profiting from the war in Gaza. A similar recommendation was issued to the Port of Barcelona.

“The suffering and death in Gaza over the past year and a half, and recent attacks by the Israeli government, make any relationship unviable,” said Barcelona mayor Jaume Collboni during the council session.

This is not the first time Barcelona has taken such a stance. In 2023, former mayor Ada Colau moved to suspend relations with Israel, but her decision was overturned when Collboni assumed office following local elections.

Although largely symbolic, the move by Spain’s second-largest city adds weight to growing international criticism of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Barcelona, a global tourism hub and home to FC Barcelona, joins a widening coalition of political voices condemning the humanitarian impact of the conflict.

The decision also follows a wider diplomatic shift. Just one year earlier, Spain, Ireland and Norway collectively recognized a Palestinian state. Israel denounced the coordinated move. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has since emerged as one of the most vocal critics within the European Union of Israel’s actions in Gaza.