A North London council has voted to twin the borough with a Palestinian city in order to “affirm [its] commitment to solidarity, shared values and unity”.
The decision was called “deeply troubling” by the opposition and a “divisive gesture” by a prominent Jewish organisation.
Wembley Hill ward’s Labour Councillor, Ihtesham Afzal, tabled a motion to consider twinning Brent with Nablus at a meeting in November of last year. Brent Council will move forward with the plan after it was voted through by a majority at its annual council meeting on Wednesday (May 14).
A petition received almost 2,000 signatures in support of the proposal, which Council Leader, Cllr Muhammed Butt, advised meant that it “meets the threshold to take [it] forward” and had been through a “rigorous process of interrogation” by council officers to ensure it “links in” with the local authorities’ priorities.
He added: “This is all about making sure the diversity of Brent and its community is being recognised.”
Twinning towns are designed to foster closer relationships between communities through shared values, as well as to learn from other cultures, traditions, and experiences. Brent currently has a single twinning relationship with South Dublin, established in 1997 at a time when Brent had the largest Irish-born population in mainland Britain.
The initial motion highlighted opportunities that have already been provided to young Palestinians to meet young people in Brent, as well as councillors and MPs, to “share and develop a bond” over their experiences in education, sport, and culture.
It added that opportunities for young Brent residents to visit the Palestinian territories, “are being planned”. Gaza and the West Bank are the Palestinian territories in the region, with Gaza being threatened with being almost entirely flattened by the Israeli military, making visits there unlikely anytime soon.
The decision to twin with Nablus was criticised by Conservative councillors in the room, who ultimately voted against the proposal. Cllr Michael Maurice instead suggested twinning with a town that has mixed Arab, Jewish and Christian populations and situated “outside any theatre of war”.
He called the selection of Nablus a “deeply troubling position” that could be seen as “appeasing a terrorist organisation” in reference to Hamas which carried out a bloody attack on Israeli soil that sparked the bombing and ground invasion of Gaza.
He said: “We are concerned about twinning with Nablus because it is governed by a council where […] the majority of which, including the Mayor, are members of Hamas – a group designated and proscribed as a terrorist organisation by most countries in the world.”
Cllr Afzal claimed the opposition statements were “lies, misinformation and fear-mongering” and he would not “waste time responding”.
He said: “In taking forward the twinning of our borough with Nablus in Palestine we affirm our commitment to solidarity, shared values and unity across borders. […] Our only twinning prior to this is with South Dublin, it needs to be underlined that the Irish and Palestinian stories share a profound connection – this will be a twinning of stories.”
He added: “We will build real partnerships here and in Nablus, working to face shared challenges. […] This is for the children who grow up with the weight of occupation yet still dream of a brighter future. A future of freedom for the elders whose memories are etched with the land that they once called home.”
Nablus has a predominantly Muslim population. Brent has the 15th largest Muslim population and the second largest Arab diaspora in England and Wales, which the council points to as an example of the “synergy” between the two places.
However, Brent Council’s own equality analysis states that it is important to recognise that the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas is “highly contentious and polarising”. It suggests the conflict has been attributed to rises in hate crime in the UK and “may cause anxiety to some of Brent’s communities”, potentially causing different groups to be “emotionally impacted by the twinning, at the very least”. One such group could be the Jewish community.
A spokesperson for the Jewish Leadership Council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “The councillors proposing this twinning project claim that they merely wish to recognise the diversity of Brent.
“However, since this conflict started, we have seen a desperate fracturing of community cohesion, accompanied by a steep rise in anti-Jewish hatred as antisemites feel increasingly emboldened. Brent Councillors should prioritise bringing together Brent’s communities over making divisive gestures.”
According to the equality report, the latest hate crime statistics in Brent suggest that, between April 2024 and February 2025, there have been 40 recorded offences related to antisemitism – an 11 per cent reduction on the same period the previous year. This compares with 73 recorded offences related to Islamophobia – an 82 per cent increase on the same period the previous year.
As an openly gay councillor, Labour’s Daniel Kennelly also spoke to seek assurances that the LGBTQ+ community is “safeguarded” moving forwards. In 2019, the Palestinian authority announced that LGBTQ+ groups were forbidden from meeting in the West Bank under grounds that they are “harmful to the higher values and ideals of society”.
Although this was eventually withdrawn, Cllr Kennelly highlighted that, when considering twinning arrangements with any part of the world, it is important to be “reflective of our inclusive LGBT values”.
This point was echoed by Leader of the Brent Liberal Democrat Group, Cllr Paul Lorber, whose councillors later abstained on the vote. He said: “Parts of Palestine are not safe for the gay community. That is why approximately 2,000 gay people have sought refuge and asylum in Israel because that isn’t a safe haven for them.
“Until this council is absolutely certain that places that we twin with are safe for every single citizen of this borough we should not consider twinning with that place.”
Twinning arrangements are subject to a review every five years. Brent Council will be required to resubmit an equality assessment to show evidence of its impact, both positively and negatively, which will then be used to determine whether the arrangement continues or not.
Grant Williams is a journalist and Local Democracy Reporter (LDR) for Reach PLC, reporting on local government, politics and community issues across London. As part of the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he has contributed to Harrow Online, covering council decisions, housing developments, transport, planning matters and stories affecting local communities across Harrow and Brent.
