Twinning city with Gaza is good, says ambassador (From Worcester News)

Twinning city with Gaza is good, says ambassador

12:20pm Saturday 28th February 2009

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THE Palestinian Ambassador to the UK has told your Worcester News he is backing the controversial city council proposal to twin Worcester with Gaza City.

As news of the council’s unlikely scheme to form twinning arrangements with the war-torn Palestinian city was picked up by media outlets around the globe yesterday, Dr Manuel Hassassian, the Palestinian territories’ diplomatic representative in Britain, said he believes the idea is a good one.

“As the Palestinian Ambassador here in the UK I totally endorse these kind of twinnings,” he said.

“In principle it’s of course acceptable to the Palestinians to have twinnings with Britain because it helps with the solidarity and the relationships between the UK people and the Palestinian people.

“There has been a lot of support for the Palestinian people and particularly for those in Gaza following the latest onslaught on the city.

“These sort of relationships can help with cultural relations between two societies and they promote mutual respect and understanding.”

Dr Hassassian said he was “optimistic” the situation in Gaza was now beginning to improve, and that access to and from the city may eventually become easier.

“I think it will be possible for people to cross to and from Gaza and it will reopen avenues to co-operate in these sorts of ways,” he said.

The ambassador also insisted it was not inappropriate for a small city council to become involved in international politics in this way. “There are lots of cities and universities and other institutions in the UK who have shown their support in different ways,” he said.

“There are several towns and cities twinned with places in the West Bank.”

Meanwhile, news media around the world have been reporting the city council’s decision to ask Worcester’s Twinning Association to look at the idea, revealed by your Worcester News on our website this week.

The Kansas City Star suggested the plan could make “official exchanges awkward” due to British foreign policy, while the report in the Jerusalem Post said it was “unclear what the practical ramifications would be”.

Messages left on the Jerusalem Post website made their readers’ view very clear, however.

One Israeli poster suggested Worcester City Council must be “pro-terror” and “pro 9/11” for considering the idea, while another said the cities of Worcester and Gaza “deserve each other”.

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