In July 1987, Gold Coast Mayor Dennis Pie signed a Sister City agreement between the Gold Coast and the city of Netanya in Israel. More appropriately known as Umm Khalid, in Occupied Palestine.

On Tuesday the 20th of August 2024, after being presented with a petition signed by over 1600 Gold Coasters, the council voted on the Sister-city relationship between the Gold Coast and Netanya. All but 1 councillor voted to cut the ties. Another councillor introduced an informal motion to express compassion for both Palestinians and Israelis. Mark Hammel voted against cutting the ties and against informally expressing compassion. 

Local councils and shires all around Australia and the world are passing Palestine solidarity motions because cumulatively this sends a strong message to Israel that the world does support their genocide on the people of Palestine. To continue the councils ties to Netanya and Israel is complicity in their actions. 

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing is the latest human rights expert to recognize that Israel is committing apartheid against Palestinians. At the UN General Assembly, Special Rapporteur Balakrishnan Rajagopal presented a report on housing rights worldwide which states that the system of racial oppression and discrimination that has led to the destruction of Palestinian homes “is nothing short of apartheid”. 

South Africa has brought Israel to the International Court of Justice and accused them of the crime of genocide, which the court has ruled plausible and is now being taken to trial.

Israel is responsible for a manufactured famine, indefinite blockade of essentials including, food, electricity, water, medicine, targeting of civilians, targeting healthcare workers, targeting journalists, targeting aid workers, targeting children, elderly, disabled and pregnant people. They have committed the war crime of perfidy on multiple occasions, disguising themselves as medical staff or aid workers to commit massacres against civilians. They sneak into hospitals and kill people in hospital beds. They bomb those same hospitals and force workers to leave babies in incubators to be found decomposing weeks later. There is systemic torture and rape of hostages that are held with no charge, systemic theft of children, bodies and organs, many mass graves are found containing the bodies of thousands of civilians. Children are the overwhelming majority of victims since the population of Gaza is 50% children, this is due to the low life expectancy of Gazans under Israeli apartheid, occupation and blockade, pre-dating October 7th, 2023.

Tom Tate, the Gold Coast Mayor has previously claimed that there were no agreements between the 'sister-cities'. However, in a recent article in the Gold Coast Bulletin, he said Netanya's cyber security was 'the best in the world' and is helping the Gold Coast 'take us into the future.'
What does this mean and why is the GC taking cyber security advice from a genocidal, apartheid state which has consistently shown complete disregard for human life and international law?