Sheffield agrees to make links with Palestine West Bank city after five-year delay

Sheffield Nablus Twinning Association (SNTA) greeted the news of Sheffield City Council’s decision made on August 29, to establish a Friendship Agreement with the Palestinian city of Nablus.

“This has been a long time coming after years of campaigning and lobbying,” said Julie Pearn, SNTA secretary.

“The Mayor of Nablus at the time wrote to Sheffield City Council to request a formal twinning agreement between our two cities back in 2019.

“It seems this request was either ignored or overlooked but we are glad that following our efforts this was put back on the agenda and was finally agreed,” she said.

Palestine solidarity activist Dr Pearn lobbied the council last year to take up the 2019 offer from Nablus of a twinning agreement that she had officially presented to then Lord Mayor of Sheffield, Coun Tony Downing. She compared the delays to the swift action taken by the council to publicly sign a memorandum of understanding with Khmelnytskyi in the Ukraine.

Framework

Council leader Coun Tom Hunt responded to questions from Dr Pearn at a council meeting last September. He said that the council has many requests for twinning arrangements and a new framework was being put in place to deal with them.

Nablus is considered the largest commercial and cultural centre in Palestine and is among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The city hosts nine churches, 318 mosques and two Samaritan synagogues.

SNTA said that it does not want this just to be a formal agreement on paper, but a real opportunity to create substantial grassroots links with the people of Nablus.

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Nablus, like other West Bank cities, has experienced increased repression and military incursions by Israeli soldiers and settlers as tensions have escalated over Gaza, the organisation said. Living under Israeli military occupation means jobs are scarce and hardship and poverty are increasing.

“SNTA has already held several online meetings with Nablus trade unionists and with cultural and community activists. Through this, we know how important solidarity and acts of friendship are to our Nablus brothers and sisters,” said Dr Pearn, who has visited Nablus and other areas of the West Bank several times.

Solidarity

She said: “We believe that our direct connections with Nablus and capacity to encourage people-to-people cooperation can:

• Help more people to become actively engaged in their solidarity with Palestine, raising awareness through personal contact;
• Increase our knowledge of how Israeli apartheid works, for example, the separation of Palestinians between Gaza and the West Bank, the denial of basic human rights, the use of long–term administrative detention without trial including of children, the severe restrictions on personal movement and other freedoms;
• Develop economic cooperation supporting local businesses in Nablus and creating opportunities for Sheffield businesses to engage in ethical trade with Palestine.
• Raise awareness of the northern West Bank’s contribution to resistance against Israeli apartheid and the ongoing fight for justice and a Free Palestine;
• Pave the way to develop formal ties with a city in the Gaza Strip in the future;
• Signal a call to other cities, organisations and individuals to join Sheffield in standing in solidarity with Palestine, encouraging them to establish similar agreements or support existing efforts.”

SNTA will hold its second online Sheffield-Nablus cultural link-up, live from Crookes Social Club, on November 16.