Mayor in Brazil declares city 'Apartheid Free Zone', coinciding with Nakba anniversary

The mayor of a Brazilian city declared his town an 'Apartheid Free Zone' on Tuesday, cutting ties with Israel.

Edmilson Rodrigues, the mayor of the northern city of Belem in Para state, denounced Israel’s expulsion of a people from their ancestral territory, calling it "true apartheid."

His announcement coincides with the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, or Catastrophe, when Zionist militias expelled over 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and lands during the creation of Israel in 1948.

"Nakba, the expulsion of a people from its ancestral territory, a true apartheid," he says in a video shared by the pro-Palestine Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS).

"Belém of Pará, which is sister of Bethlehem of Palestine declares itself a territory free from the apartheid imposed by the Zionist government of Israel."

On #Nakba75, Mayor of Belém, @EdmilsonPSOL, declares his city an #ApartheidFreeZone!#EndIsraeliApartheid
📽️ @ProgIntl pic.twitter.com/zSQeZs8Zb7

— BDS movement (@BDSmovement) May 16, 2023

"From then on it takes place, taking lives, affecting dignity, denying the right to self-determination and sovereignty of the Palestinian people."

The Palestinian BDS National Committee applauded the mayor’s decision.

In a statement, it said it "salutes the mayor of Belem and calls on cities worldwide to follow suit, freeing themselves of complicity in apartheid, and standing in solidarity with our liberation struggle."

Israel has occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in violation of international law since 1967, building illegal settlements in these territories and subjecting the Palestinian population to harsh restrictions on their movement.

Despite leaving the Gaza Strip in 2005, Israel continues to impose a crippling siege on the Palestinian coastal enclave.

Several human rights groups, notably Amnesty International, have accused Israel of committing "the crime of apartheid".

Near-daily raids by Israeli forces across the West Bank since March 2022 have seen hundreds of Palestinians killed or injured. Over 150 Palestinians have died since the start of this year alone.

"Hope is never lost, for a simple reason: this is a just cause, and as long as it is a just cause, there will be hope"

From Barcelona to Gaza: Catalonia's solidarity with Palestine⬇ https://t.co/iNDHwJhOeV

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) January 17, 2023

Rodrigues’ announcement comes after a number of other cities cut ties with Israel over its apartheid.

The mayor of Spain’s Barcelona suspended institutional ties with Israel and ended his city’s twinning arrangement with Tel Aviv in February.

Last month, the Belgian city of Liege cut ties with Israel, and the Norwegian capital Oslo decided to stop trading with companies which produce goods or provide services in occupied Palestinian areas.