DayofPal— Hackney Council in north London is expected to vote on ending its 56-year twinning agreement with the occupied city of Haifa, citing Israel’s apartheid policies, military occupation, and ongoing genocide against Palestinians.
The motion follows years of campaigning by Palestine solidarity groups and fulfills a key election pledge by the Green Party, which took control of the council in May and now holds a commanding majority of seats.
Activists have long urged the council to sever its relationship with Haifa believing that maintaining official ties with an Israeli municipality normalizes Israel’s oppression of Palestinians.
Calls for de-twinning intensified after Israel launched its genocide in Gaza in October 2023.
Campaigners also pointed to Haifa’s role as the headquarters of Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer, whose arms are used by the Israeli military.
They have further demanded that Hackney divest its pension fund from companies linked to Israel’s military and occupation.
Palestine solidarity advocates note that the city was home to more than 70,000 Palestinians before the vast majority were forcibly displaced during the 1948 Nakba by Israeli forces.
Sussan Rassoulie of the Hackney Palestine Solidarity Campaign said it is “absolutely abhorrent” for a local authority claiming to uphold ethical values to maintain ties with an occupied city.
She stressed that Haifa serves as a major Israeli military port and has played a key logistical role in receiving weapons shipments during Israel’s war on Gaza.
Instead, campaigners have called for Hackney to establish civic ties with the occupied Palestinian town of Silwan in East Jerusalem as an expression of solidarity with the Palestinian people.
The Green Party said Haifa “does not reflect Hackney’s values,” with the emphasis that Palestinian residents live under Israel’s occupation and apartheid system.
The party stated that the borough’s international partnerships should align with principles of justice and human rights rather than reinforce relations with institutions connected to Israel’s atrocities toward Palestinians.
If approved, the decision would mark one of the most significant municipal actions in the United Kingdom to sever official ties with an city under Israeli occupation in response to Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and its ongoing war on Gaza.
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