High Court overturns municipal ban
The Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Catalunya (TSJC) has annulled Barcelona City Council's 2023 decision to suspend institutional relations with Israel and block Israeli companies from municipal contracts. The ruling, issued on 7 October 2026, responds to a legal challenge by the organisation Acción y Comunicación sobre Oriente Medio (ACOM), which argued the measures were unlawful.
Court cites discrimination and overreach
The TSJC's Contencioso Chamber ruled that the city exceeded its legal powers and that the measures amounted to discriminatory treatment of third parties. Judges rejected the council's argument that the November 2023 plenary agreement was purely a political declaration without legal effect. The decision had required a clause in public contracts to prevent municipal funds from supporting operations conflicting with international humanitarian law.
City vows to appeal
Barcelona's First Deputy Mayor, Laia Bonet, confirmed the city will appeal the ruling once it has been fully reviewed.
Our position as a city council remains the same: to condemn the violence and genocide being carried out by the state of Israel against the Palestinian population in Gaza and the West Bank. It is a matter of humanity and human rights.
Bonet stressed that the court's decision does not alter the municipal government's political stance. The original agreement, approved by PSC, Comuns and ERC, had severed ties with Israel until a permanent ceasefire, respect for Palestinian rights and compliance with UN resolutions were achieved.
Reported by barnadiario.com, eldiario.es, elnacional.cat, ACN, Europa Press, ABC, metropoliabierta.elespanol.com, elmundo.es, Barna Diario.
