Irish capital Dublin twinned with Palestine's Ramallah

'Aim of this Friendship Agreement is to contribute to the strengthening of friendly relations between our two cities,' says Dublim’s mayor

Ireland's capital of Dublin has been tied to Ramallah in Palestine as part of a "friendship agreement," the Dublin City Council said Thursday.  It comes following a meeting last December between then-Council Chief Executive Owen Keegan and Palestinian Ambassador to Ireland Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid where they discussed the potential for cooperation between the two cities. The Dublin City Council said the city has been twinned with Ramallah in Palestine under a "friendship agreement" signed by Dublin Mayor Daithi de Roiste and Ramallah Mayor Issa Kassis. Ramallah is now the fifth city with which Dublin has a twinning agreement, following San Jose in the US in 1986, Liverpool in 1997, Barcelona in 1998 and Beijing in 2010. "I very much welcome the signing of this Friendship Agreement between our two cities,” said de Roiste. “The aim of this Friendship Agreement is to contribute to the strengthening of friendly relations between our two cities.” Areas of possible mutual interest between the two cities include climate action, sustainable transport and active travel, municipal services in particular waste management and smart cities, added the statement. The Dublin City Council recently agreed to fly the Palestinian flag for the next week in solidarity with the people of Gaza amid ongoing Israeli attacks on the besieged enclave. Israel resumed its military offensive on the Gaza Strip on Dec. 1 after the end of a weeklong humanitarian pause with the Palestinian group, Hamas. At least 17,177 Palestinians have been killed and more than 46,000 injured in relentless air and ground attacks on the enclave since Oct. 7 following a cross-border attack by Hamas. The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack stood at 1,200, according to official figures.