The city of Saint-Etienne has announced a major change in its international cooperation policy, by deciding to establish a twinning with a Palestinian community, replacing that established with the Israeli municipality of Nof HaGalil.
In a press release, the municipality led by Régis Juanico indicates that it wants to “place its cooperation action under the aegis of international law and human solidarity”, evoking “a new strong act of international cooperation with a Palestinian community”. She also expresses “her deepest concern” about “the tragedy which is striking the Palestinian people and the genocide still ongoing in Gaza”, presenting herself as a “resolute actor of peace and respect for fundamental rights”.
The municipality “feeds the fractures”, says Crif
The twinning with Nof HaGalil, signed in 1974 under the mandate of Michel Durafour, is now considered inactive, with the City establishing “the observation of a de facto suspension of cooperation operations”. This Israeli commune, which has nearly 50,000 inhabitants, was founded in the 1950s on land belonging to the Arab city of Nazareth, as part of a project by David Ben-Gurion aimed at “Judeizing the Galilee”.
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This decision provokes reactions. The Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (Crif) in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes believes that “by breaking with a democratic Israeli city, the municipality led by Régis Juanico serves neither peace nor justice: it fuels fractures” and “calls elected officials to responsibility”.
This announcement comes on the eve of a demonstration organized by La France insoumise to “demand detwinning” with Nof HaGalil, followed by a new gathering planned for Monday during the municipal council, under the slogan “Saint-Etienne must no longer support Israeli apartheid”.
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