Amsterdam scraps plan to bridge Tel Aviv, Ramallah

Amsterdam has decided to give up on its plans for a partnership between the city and Tel Aviv and Ramallah. The capital is still committed to working with both cities, but there will not be any formalized cooperation. Mayor Eberhard van der Laan wrote this in a letter to the city council, the Parool reports. The Amsterdam city council initially rejected the proposal for a partnership between the three cities, but in July agreed that Mayor Van der Laan can visit the cities to explore the possibilities. The mayor did so in September. According to the newspaper, Van der Laan writes that a cooperation with the two cities remains interesting, but he is under no illusion that cooperation at city level can contribute to a political solution to the conflict in the area. Ramallah would also not even consider a so-called trilateral cooperation between the three cities. This matter will be discussed at the General Affairs committee meeting on Thursday.