Why London’s Hackney Council wants to repeal its ‘twin’ status with Haifa

Published 28 July 2026 · politics

The Green Party, which took over control of the council from the Labour Party, has voiced strong opposition to Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. East

The Green Party, which took over control of the council from the Labour Party, has voiced strong opposition to Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. East London’s Hackney Council is to vote on a motion to “de-twin” from Israel’s Haifa after almost six decades in protest against Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. The London Borough of Hackney and Israel’s third largest city, which is north of Tel Aviv on the Mediterranean coast, made a twinning declaration on July 26, 1968, pledging to encourage “friendly contacts and exchanges between the ordinary citizens”. The arrangement was part of a longstanding tradition for cities in the United Kingdom to pair up with foreign cities in a bid to encourage cultural exchanges, trade and tourism between them. According to the council, the agreement with Haifa has been “dormant” since the COVID-19 pandemic and the council “will not engage in any twinning activity with Haifa whilst conflict is ongoing”. During local elections in May, which saw the Green Party take over control of Hackney Council from the ruling Labour Party, the topic of de-twinning from the Israeli city altogether became a key issue. The Green Party has long taken a strongly pro-Palestine stance and has voiced opposition to Israel’s war on Gaza. As a result, on Tuesday evening, the council is scheduled to vote on a motion that would terminate the agreement with Haifa and review Hackney’s twinning programmes generally.

The move has received backlash from Jewish groups in England. Al Jazeera approached Hackney Council for comment but has not yet received a response. Here’s what we know Why is Hackney proposing to ‘de-twin’ with Haifa? According to Hackney Council documents published before the vote, the council has been petitioned to end twinning relations in protest against the war on Gaza and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the enclave. In 2024, the Hackney Palestinian Solidarity Campaign submitted a petition to end the twinning partnership. Hackney Mayor Caroline Woodley said the agreement was “inactive” and would be reviewed once the conflict ended. A cross-party motion was again launched in October by the Greens and Hackney Independent Socialist Groups. The council said public calls have only “intensified” since a September report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, a United Nations fact-finding mission. Its report accused Israeli forces of breaches of international law and the Genocide Convention in Gaza and in the occupied West Bank, where violence against Palestinians has been on the rise for some time. “Residents have also raised concerns that Haifa functions as a primary state naval facility and serves as the global headquarters for defence manufacturers, including Elbit Systems,” the council added. Alongside the motion to terminate the twinning agreement with Haifa, a cross-party twinning working group has also been proposed.