A Spanish court in has annulled a resolution issued in June 2018 by the City Council of Pamplona, which was governed by the radical Basque nationalist Bildu party, on the grounds of discrimination.
The resolution had claimed support for the BDS movement, called for denying access to public spaces to Israeli citizens and entities supported by Israel and declared Israeli officials “personae non gratae” in the city.
In a detailed sentence, court condemned the “covert boycott of Israel” of the resolution, establishing that it had violated the principle of “institutional neutrality and objectivity” and that it had constituted “unjustified discrimination of the State of Israel and Israelis”, a discrimination that caused “a violation of the right to equality of all citizens.”
In addition, the court found that the resolution had exceeded a “mere declaration of principles” and that it “unnecessarily transcended the specific local problems of the neighbours of Pamplona” and also involved “exercising international competences, which the city council does not possess.”
In the same manner, court rejected the possibility that a municipal entity can declare Israeli officials “personae non gratae,” because it lacks “legal authorisation ” to do so, and because the matter does not concern “municipal interest.”
