Councils across the UK are forming a new wave of “friendships” with towns in Palestine, in a bid to strengthen links between communities and support scholarships.
The city of Preston in the north of England established a friendship agreement with Hebron last year, and the cities of Durham and Portsmouth formed similar arrangements with Dar Salah and Birzeit.
More friendships in Scotland are expected to be announced soon. They all come under the umbrella of the British Palestinian Friendship and Twinning Network, members of which met in London last weekend.
The network’s co-chair Karen Howell, a former nurse, said there had been a swell of new applications for friendships and twinning since their last conference two years ago, as the Palestinian issue has been thrown into the spotlight.
“There’s been a big movement across the country of people forming friendships. People have gone on demonstrations and thought, I want something more real, more tangible.”
The partnerships are cultural, with a view to attaining a better understanding of the situation in Palestine, and to support fundraising activities, Ms Howell said.
There has been some resistance from councils, who fear that the process could signal a political position. These agreements are non-political and are about forming friendships, she said. “It’s about culture, celebration and friendship, it’s not political overtly,” she said.
“They’ve tried to keep this really open.” As long as the places invite all the community so that it’s democratic and due process is done,” she said.
Brent Council defended its decision to twin with Nablus last year following a backlash from the local Conservative MP and some residents – though it has not yet joined the BPFTN network.
Twinned cities will normally also have university and educational exchanges. The Mayor of Ramallah, Issa Al Kassis, visited Oxford late last year as part of a twinning agreement between the two cities.
The less formal friendship groups often host exhibitions and local fundraisers, as well as having regular video calls with friends in Palestine. “The rewards are huge in terms of long-term friendships that are established, which means a lot. There’s a lot of humour as well,” she said.
She spoke of English and Arabic lessons between members of the Network and Palestinians in Dar Salah. “We laughed so much.”
Members of friendship groups get to learn about the situations in Gaza and the West Bank from Palestinians themselves. “Our biggest concern is the situation in Gaza. We’re also seeing how daily lives are affected in the West Bank. There’s a lack of access to medical care and the regular settler incursions. A lot of our groups are reporting it,” she said.
Many of the groups have links to local schools in Palestine, with Bradford-on-Avon fundraising for language clubs in Tubas and helping to rebuild schools attacked by settlers. Another initiative by the Olive Harvest Trust was established recently to provide school breakfasts in Madama.
A group in Southampton raised money for a children’s day in Deir Al Balah, central Gaza, in January last year, to show support for those displaced by the war. “The children were able to engage in normal childhood activities, dancing, singing, playing and enjoying themselves ... which every child should have automatic rights to,” wrote Jonathan Martin in the BPFTN’s newsletter.
“What an incredible honour and privilege for us all to play this part in helping the Palestinian people to have access to the means to be able to help and support themselves."
The conference on Saturday considered what Palestine's future needs are likely to be, given the UK's recognition of the state of Palestine, but the increase in settler violence and Israeli military campaigns in Gaza continue despite the ceasefire. Speakers included Arab Barghouti, the son of jailed politician Marwan Barghouti, and Palestinian diplomat Marwan Yaghi, a political counsellor at the embassy.
The cities of Dundee and Nablus were the first to establish a twinning network in 1980, after the mayor of Nablus lost his leg in a car bomb and went to Dundee for treatment. A member-led association works to promote the twinning at the community level, organising events in local venues and schools.
Many of these older groups have faced challenges running their usual activities, which would have included an annual trip for a Palestinian to the UK or vice versa. The West Wales Friends of Palestine reported that they could not run their usual projects in the village of Al Rummanah and Jenin camp in the West Bank due to the escalating situation there.
Instead, after meeting a Palestinian surgeon from Gaza who worked locally, they fundraised for a school in a tent in Deir Al Balah, which took in around 150 children three days a week.
