Oxford Town Hall could fly Palestinian flag later this year
The mayor of Ramallah has been invited by the city council to visit Oxford in December
Oxford Town Hall could fly the Palestinian flag in December when it expects a visit from the mayor of its twin city, the leader of the city council has said.
Oxford is twinned with Ramallah, a city on the central West Bank.
The mayor of Ramallah has been invited by the city council to visit Oxford in December when he hopes to be in the UK.
Councillor Saj Malik asked whether the Palestinian flag could be flown at Town Hall to show solidarity with the twin city.
The leader of the city council Susan Brown said that if the mayor’s visit goes ahead, they will fly the Palestinian flag to welcome him.
The city council has not previously flown the Palestine flag or the Israeli flag.
But councillor Malik criticised the leader for pledging to raise the flag on the condition that the mayor’s visit goes ahead.
He said: “I have asked this question four times.
“Do you have anything against the people of Palestine?
“We have flown a flag for Ukraine, rightly so. We have a friendship with Ramallah, rightly so.
“Ramallah is not run by Hamas – it has nothing to do with the conflict.
“A genocide is being committed in Palestine, which your party supports.
“Here we are talking about humanity – why don’t we fly the flag of Palestine in solidarity with our twin city?”
Councillor Brown responded to say that councillor Malik “hasn’t actually read my response”, that said the council would raise the flag if the mayor of Ramallah visited.
Oxford was first twinned with Ramallah in 2019, becoming its seventh twin city.
It is not always a given that the city council fly the flag belonging to the twin city when a representative comes to Oxford.
But if the upcoming visit goes ahead, it would be the first time the mayor of Ramallah would have visited Oxford.
Oxford is also twinned with Bonn in Germany, Grenoble in France, Leiden in The Netherlands, Padua in Italy, Wrocław in Poland, and León in Nicaragua.
The city council has passed a number of motions in support of Palestine, including the call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza in November 2023.
It also passed a motion which called for the council to stop investing in and trading with companies which are implicated in state violence and oppression, war and occupation, as well as grave violations of human rights.
Councillor Brown received a letter from the mayor of Ramallah earlier this year, and she responded to express the city’s solidarity and support.