London, Feb 26, IRNA — Worcester in central England is seeking to become the first British city to twin with Gaza after local councillors voted overwhelmingly to back the proposal following Israel’s slaughter of more than 1,300 Palestinians.
A motion for the council’s Twinning Association to consider an application for a partnership with Gaza City was passed at what was described as a “passionate” meeting with just six councillors opposing the move out of 35 voters.
Local councillor Alan Amos, who proposed the motion, said that he felt moved to do something following the Israeli slaughter, which he branded as “the worst atrocity since the Second World War.”
“We can do something or we can do nothing. This is about offering hope and help to people who have lost all hope,” Amos was quoted saying by the local Halesowen News.
“Like many I have watched the plight of the people of Gaza, seeing them get bombed and bombed by Israeli’s with advanced military weapons. But rather than sit there thinking ‘isn’t that terrible?’, I really wanted to do something about it,” he said.
Twinning arrangements have grown up in Britain as largely a grass roots movement since World War Two to contribute to peace and reconciliation. Partnerships with overseas towns and cities have often evolved from friendships and cultural connections.
Amos said that although he was a seasoned politician, it was “hard to influence foreign policy” at a local government level and felt his proposal was more of a humanitarian gesture.
“We wanted to bring people together to show a gesture of solidarity – so Gaza could look at us and see that the whole world isn’t against them, there are people who understand their plight and think what is happening to them is unacceptable,” he said.
“We have made history in doing this, although that’s not what we set out to do, we have obviously done something very memorable and we are very optimistic that this will go ahead,” he added.
Israel’s latest attacks on the Palestinians have provoked widespread protests in the UK at local level as well as on many university campuses. Last week, in a gesture of solidarity, Palestinian flags were raised on lampposts in Bristol, western England.
Although British councils have made twinning arrangements with over 2,000 overseas counterparts, none are currently with any Palestinian towns or cities.
The contrast between Worcester and Gaza could not be more startling – between a middle-England cathedral city, famous for porcelain as the birth-place of British composer Sir Edward Elgar and the devastation wreaked on what has often been described as the world’s largest prison besieged by Israel.