İzmir cancels sister city protocol with Tel Aviv over Gaza war

İZMİR

The western province of İzmir's municipal council has unanimously voted to cancel its sister city agreement with Tel Aviv, citing the ongoing conflict in Gaza as the primary reason.

The decision was met with support from local politicians.

The ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) İzmir head, Bilal Saygılı, praised the council's decision in a written statement.

"Our identity is Türkiye and İzmir, our brother is Palestine, Gaza," Saygılı said, expressing gratitude to İzmir Mayor Cemil Tugay and the council members who voted for the cancellation.

"İzmir's shame of being a sister city with Tel Aviv is now over," he added. "We have always valued the necessity of local diplomacy in every field, but we refused to be brothers with genocide criminals. Neither the murderous Zionist perversion nor the accomplices who support it could be our side."

The decision was also hailed as "historic" by AKP council member Kazım Erten, who argued that only cities promoting diversity in beliefs, cultures and ethnicities should maintain sister city relationships.

Similarly, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) member Bahadır Altınkeser celebrated the council's move.

"The Israeli attacks that started on Oct. 7 [last year] have reached the level of massacre. While the whole world boycotts Israel, which has declared terrorism, with actions, it is not possible for our beautiful city of İzmir to remain a sister city with Tel Aviv," he said. "Our parliament has done what is befitting of itself."

In the same session, the council discussed UEFA's two-match ban on Turkish defender Merih Demiral imposed following a controversial hand gesture made during the match against Austria in the last 16 round of Euro 2024.

Altınkeser proposed erecting a statue of Demiral in the city, a motion that was unanimously accepted by the council and forwarded to the relevant commission for consideration.

The gesture led to disciplinary action against the player after it was condemned by Germany's Interior Minister Nancy Faeser as having far-right associations.