Bethlehem /PNN /

Bethlehem / PNN / Several European cities have announced complete boycotts of Israel and its institutions, in a clear expression of their rejection of Israel's racist policies on one hand, and their rejection of their country's silence about what Israel is committing on the other hand.

Analysts see that these cities' decisions carry several messages, the most prominent of which is that these cities are taking practical steps to hold Israel accountable. The second message is calling on governments in these countries to take practical measures against Israel's racist policies. The third message is a message to the Palestinians that they are not alone, and that there are people in the world who stand with them. These cities call on the occupying state to stop its crimes against the Palestinian people.

Palestinians, for their part, welcomed these steps by cities in Belgium, Norway, and Barcelona, considering this move an important step by these cities, their institutions, and their peoples towards correcting international positions that remain silent about Israel's violations of international and humanitarian laws and customs.

The Palestinian Liberation Organization's Department of Expatriate Affairs welcomed the decision of the Liège municipality to sever ties with institutions of the occupying state, considering the decision as a reflection of the rejection of racist policies and the escalation of crimes committed by the occupation against our people, their land and their holy sites.

The PLO department also praised the efforts and activism of the Palestinian community in Belgium, along with Belgian institutions and parties, in organizing protests and events condemning the crimes and racist policies of the occupation towards our people.

Munther Amira, a popular resistance activist and a campaigner for boycotting Israel and its products, said in an interview with the Palestine News Network that these decisions by several European cities represent an important and significant step towards taking practical measures against the occupying state and its crimes against the Palestinian people.

Amira pointed out in his interview with PNN that this decision comes in the context of international silence, American complicity, and Arab normalization, reminding the world that there are those who reject all these international policies that support the occupying state and remain silent about its racist practices that violate international laws.

He emphasized that these decisions represent a cry from the cities that issued them, calling for the boycott of Israel and imposing sanctions on it, especially for the governments of these cities to take practical measures against Israel, which violates international law.

Amira also stressed the importance of continuing to work with cities in different countries to announce similar and additional steps, calling on all Palestinian municipalities that are twinned with international cities to demand that they take boycott measures against Israel.

For its part, the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), the largest coalition leading the global BDS movement for freedom, justice and equality, warmly welcomes this decision and salutes the tireless work of Norwegian grassroots groups, trade unions and parties that have made it possible.

Following the Barcelona mayor’s suspension of ties with apartheid Israel, this Oslo city council decision rejects complicity and promotes human rights. We call on cities worldwide to sever ties with apartheid Israel to support the Palestinian quest for freedom, justice, and equality. Let’s scalate #BDS campaigns now to #DismantleApartheid!

The BDS movement also praised “the solidarity groups, unions, and Norwegian political parties who worked tirelessly to achieve this announcement.”

Oslo excludes settlement goods and services

The latest expressions of support for the Palestinian people and their just rights came from Norway, where the municipality of the Norwegian capital, Oslo, announced a ban on the import of goods and services from companies that directly or indirectly contribute to the settlements, as they constitute a flagrant violation of international law.

Norway's capital, announced that it will not trade in goods and services produced in areas that are illegally occupied in violation of international law. Its procurement policy will exclude companies that directly or indirectly contribute to Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise - a war crime under international law.

The Belgian city of Liège freezes its relations with the occupying Power

Yesterday, the Belgian city of Liège, which has had a twinning relationship with the Palestinian city of Ramallah since 2014, also voted to freeze relations with the Israeli occupation entity and with all public and private "Israeli" institutions that facilitate the continuation of the occupation and the violation of the rights of the Palestinian people.

The decision, which was supported by the majority of the members of the municipal council proposed by the Belgian Labour Party, and supported by the Belgian Socialist Party, the Greens Party, and a representative of the VEGA movement, confirms its support for the Palestinian people, who suffer from military occupation, apartheid, and settlement.

The decision also affirms its support for the BDS movement and its refusal to deal with any institution that deals with the settlements or plays any role in sustaining the occupation, in accordance with Belgian and European Union laws, which violate all obligations towards the European human rights system, and violate the rules of international law and the resolutions taken, especially Resolution 242, issued in November 1967, which rejects the seizure of land by force and calls for withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian territories.

The decision of the Belgian city also relies on Security Council Resolution 2334, which considers the establishment of settlements to be incompatible with the rules of international law and threatens the principle of "establishing a Palestinian state within the framework of a permanent and just peace." The decision also calls on the occupation entity to stop all its settlement activities, including in the city of Jerusalem, while confirming rejection of any attempts to change the pre-occupation reality that began on June 4, 1967, according to the text of the decision.

As the decision is considered by the Belgian city to maintain the full right of return for Palestinians who were displaced in 1948, the Municipal Council of Liège confirms the freezing of all relations with the state of "Israel" and with all public and private institutions that support the occupation and benefit from its continuation. This is until "Israel" puts an end to its policies that violate the rights of the Palestinian people, as imposed by international law and United Nations resolutions.

Barcelona freezes its relations with Tel Aviv

Earlier, the Municipal Council of Barcelona, Spain, approved the cancellation of the twinning agreement with the municipality of "Tel Aviv" under the occupation, and the freezing of relations between the city and the occupation state.

Ada Colau, the mayor of the city, proposed the cancellation of the agreement between left-wing parties.