Is Hamas seeking a sister city agreement with the Californian city? – opinion

This summer, a city in Southern California was made a rather unusual proposal: to establish a “sister city relationship” with the war-torn city of Gaza. The proposed deal, also known as the Sister Cities Agreement, would require recognition and diplomatic relations with a foreign terrorist organization.

In June, Gaza City Mayor Yahya Sarraj sent a letter to Irvine, California, proposing “exchange and economic cooperation” months after the Hamas-controlled government in the Gaza Strip was overthrown and forced underground. However, it was one of Irvine’s top elected officials, not Gaza’s mayor, who initially proposed merging the two cities.

If passed, Irvine would be the first municipality in the United States to participate in the Gaza sisterhood program.

The proposal raises serious questions about what could motivate members of a U.S.-designated terrorist group to seek a partnership with a city ranked among the top three places in North America to raise a family. The proposal also comes after months of tense public hearings at Irvine City Hall that centered on the war between Israel and Hamas and featured masked agitators spouting anti-Semitic hate speech.

Among sun-drenched public parks and sprawling university campuses, the city of Irvine stands in stark contrast to Gaza City, an area largely reduced to rubble in recent months of fighting. For Orange County’s wealthiest residents who call Irvine home, Gaza City may be in another galaxy. Irvine, separated by 7,500 miles, is the safest city of its size in the United States, and the Gaza Strip is a hotbed of anti-Semitic indoctrination, where locals cheered the arrival of bloodied hostages and dismembered corpses. October 7.

Police clash with pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of California at Irvine (UCI) on May 15, 2024 in Irvine, California. (Photo: Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)

Despite these differences, Mayor Sarraj emailed his counterpart in Irvine, Mayor Farrah Khan, with an ambitious plan that includes cultural and academic exchanges, trade partnerships, “joint tourism campaigns,” and even “environmental conservation” initiatives. The undated letter, which Sarraj’s office confirmed was sent on June 10, bears the signature of the Palestinian mayor and the seal of the Gaza municipality.

Sarraj is anything but a simple civil servant. In 2019, Hamas appointed him mayor of the Palestinian territories as an anti-democratic move. Israeli authorities accused Sarraj of allowing the Islamic Jihad terrorist group to fire rockets from a municipal building on Aug. 7, 2022, resulting in a misfire that led to the misfire. killed two Palestinian civilians.

After Israel launched operations in the Gaza Strip immediately after the October 7 massacre, it was heavily criticized by critics. New York Times for publishing an article by Sarraj condemning the “mindless destruction” of his city, with one commentator questioning the legality of providing “material assistance” to a “high-ranking official of a foreign terrorist organization.”

The proposal remained unanswered

According to a Hamas spokesman, Sarraj’s proposal to Mayor Khan has so far remained unanswered. Khan did not respond to emails asking whether her office intended to accept Hamas’ offer. However, the initiative for the partnership may not have come from Gaza, but from Irvine Vice Mayor Larry Agran.

A political figure in Irvine, Agran has served as an off-and-on city council member and mayor since 1978. He is a longtime proponent of the “trickle-up” theory of public policy, or the use of municipal policies to influence global affairs, a strategy that has been criticized for encroaching on the federal government’s foreign policy prerogatives.

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“Maybe someday the city of Irvine will be a sister city with Gaza City,” Agran said at a Jan. 24 City Council hearing. He was interrupted by applause from anti-Israel protesters before he added: “… and Tel AvivAlso.”

“I’m not sure, but I’m guessing Larry Agran’s proposal during the council meeting opened the door to the possibility of (a sister city agreement),” City Councilwoman Tammy Kim (D) wrote in an email.

When asked about the sister city deal, City Councilwoman Kathleen Treseder (D) would not speculate on whether Agran’s invitation was the reason for the Gaza City proposal. However, she suggested another possibility.

“To my shame and embarrassment, news of Mayor Khan and Vice Mayor Agran encouraging anti-Semitism and hate speech at our council meetings has spread widely, even internationally,” Treseder said in an email.

She was referring to months of public hearings surrounding the so-called ceasefire resolution related to the war between Israel and Hamas.

The bill attracted masked agitators who made noise at Irvine City Hall for months, waving bloody images of babies and disrupting council meetings with chants and angry outbursts.

At a council hearing that lasted into the early morning hours, anti-Israel activists accused New York Jews of running an underground child sex ring and called Israel a “haven for pedophiles.” Others repeated anti-Semitic stereotypes about Israelis stealing the organs of dead Palestinians, and some speakers promised to harass city council members in their homes if they disapproved of the resolution.

Kim and Treseder, who voted against Irvine’s ceasefire bill in February, agreed that a sister city relationship was not in the best interests of Irvine residents.

“Our city should not strengthen relations with terrorists,” Treseder said, adding that “I am physically disgusted to receive direct messages from a Hamas militant.”

“I cannot in good conscience ask any of our employees to travel to Gaza as part of our sister city relationship,” he explained.

In reality, Sarraj’s twin-city ambitions died on arrival.

“It is becoming increasingly difficult for city staff and the mayor to work in the city hall or on the street,” admitted Sarraj’s spokesman.

This is quite an understatement. With top Hamas leaders killed or on the run and government services reduced to hijackings and hoarding of humanitarian aid, Gaza City has no permanent government with which to negotiate a sister city agreement.

If Khan and Agran insist on an alliance with GazaThey should contact the IDF, which controls most of Gaza City, to make a deal.

The author is director of MEF Action, the human rights project of the Middle East Forum.