BARCELONA’S left-wing mayor has suspended institutional ties with Israel, including a twinning agreement with Tel Aviv, in a decision described as a “ray of hope” by campaigners.

Announcing the historic decision on Wednesday, Ada Colau said that she had written a letter to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu informing him that ties would remain severed until “Israeli authorities stop the systematic violation of human rights of the Palestinian people.

“As Mayor of Barcelona and a defender of human rights, I cannot remain impassive in the face of the systematic violation of the basic rights of the Palestinian people,” she said.