Barcelona City Councillor Marc Serra on Wednesday expressed his anger at the city's new Mayor Jaume Collboni after the latter announced on Friday that he has reinstated the twin city partnership with "Tel Aviv"."

"Collboni has decided to ’embrace’ "Israel" as it goes through its worst democratic crisis, governed by the far right, with a judicial reform that undermines the separation of powers, and an increase in violence against the Palestinian population," Serra wrote on X.

"It should be remembered that the suspension of the twin city partnership was a proposal initiated by thousands of citizens, the endorsement of 4 Nobel Prize winners and fifty intellectuals. And it follows the UN theses on the conflict. The Zionist lobby has been more powerful than all of this," he continued.

"Now Collboni says he will travel to Palestine... I wish he hadn't rushed and done it sooner. If he does so, he will see how in the current apartheid situation it is impossible for Palestinian cities like Gaza to want to join forces with those who attack them," his tweet concluded.

1/ Collboni ha decidido "abrazarse" a Israel justo cuando el Estado pasa por su peor crisis democratica: gobernado por la ultraderecha, con una reforma judicial q se carga la separación de poderes y un aumento de la violencia contra la población palestina.https://t.co/lmEskoJBXI

— Marc Serra Solé (@MarcSerraSole) September 1, 2023

Prior to Collboni restoring the twin city partnership, relations were suspended by his predecessor, Ada Colau, who in February announced that relations would be suspended due to "Israel's" apartheid actions towards Palestinians. 

However, Pau Solanilla, Barcelona's commissioner for international relations, claimed that renewing ties with "Tel Aviv" would not negatively impact the relationship with the Palestinian Authority. He also mentioned that Mayor Collboni's first official visit outside of Europe would be to Palestine.

"With the re-establishment of relations, we are also respecting the majority position of the plenary of the Barcelona City Council," said Solanilla. "We want to return to the positioning of a Barcelona that is committed to dialogue, peace, and consensus, and that fully exercises its Mediterranean capital."

He said that "Tel Aviv" represents "Israel's" most prominent progressive values, with over thirty significant demonstrations in recent months against the conservative policies of Netanyahu's regime while stressing that "Tel Aviv" holds a vital role as a hub for Mediterranean dialogue.

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