BARCELONA’S left-wing mayor has suspended institutional ties with Israel, including a twinning agreement with Tel Aviv, in a decision described as a “ray of hope” by campaigners.

Announcing the historic decision on Wednesday, Ada Colau said that she had written a letter to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu informing him that ties would remain severed until “Israeli authorities stop the systematic violation of human rights of the Palestinian people.

“As Mayor of Barcelona and a defender of human rights, I cannot remain impassive in the face of the systematic violation of the basic rights of the Palestinian people,” she said. 

In the letter, she told Mr Netanyahu that her constituents had requested that her office “condemn the crime of apartheid against the Palestinian people.”

The decision follows a campaign endorsed by more than 100 civil society organisations across anti-racist, feminist, youth and LGBTQI+ movements in Barcelona. 

That sparked an official petition run via Barcelona City Hall, which gathered over 4,000 signatures, forcing the mayor to hold an official debate. 

Alys Samson Estape of the End Complicity with Israel coalition, which led the de-twinning campaign, told the Morning Star that the suspension reflected a “historic demand from the people of Barcelona.

“All groups fighting for progressive rights of some sort have all come together and have joined this campaign.”

Speaking of the decision, she said: “It’s a ray of hope. The mayor is sending a clear message that it is not tolerable to hold relationships while Israel is systematically violating human rights.

“We hope it has opened the door to more and more institutions to follow suit and walk towards a future where Israel’s impunity ends.”

The decision has been hailed by Palestinians and rights groups across the world.

The Palestinian Boycott Divestment and Sanctions National Committee said that the move was “reminiscent of the historic and courageous city councils that pioneered cutting links with apartheid South Africa.”

Barcelona, Tel Aviv and Gaza City signed a friendship and co-operation agreement in 1998. 

Pro-Palestinian activists called for Barcelona's relationship with Gaza City to continue.

The Israeli government has condemned the decision as “anti-semitic,” while Madrid’s right-wing mayor offered on Thursday to take up a twinning agreement with Tel Aviv.