Israel Denies Entry to Barcelona Mayor
Israel has barred Barcelona’s mayor, Jaume Collboni, from entering the country due to his statements against the Jewish state, according to Tel Aviv media citing the Interior Ministry, CE Report quotes ANSA.
The ministry also recalled a resolution adopted last May by Barcelona’s city council to “cut ties” with Israel.
Collboni, a member of the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC), was scheduled to visit Israel today, including a stop at Yad Vashem and meetings with Palestinian Authority officials in the West Bank. He was denied a visa just hours before his flight to Tel Aviv, where he planned a regional tour with Palestinian mayors.
The decision, reported by Spanish media including La Vanguardia, was made by Israeli authorities, who accused Collboni of defaming Israel and participating in a boycott against the country.
Tensions between Barcelona and Israel date back to last May, when Collboni, supported by Comuns (Podemos) and the Catalan Republican Left (ERC), pushed through the suspension of institutional relations and the Tel Aviv–Barcelona twinning agreement over the Gaza situation. That move reversed an earlier decision by Barcelona’s administration to restore the partnership after Hamas’s October 2023 attack.
