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New Zealand’s capital, Wellington, has formalised a “Friendly City” partnership with Ramallah, the de facto capital of the Palestinian Authority (PA). Mayor Tory Whanau signed the agreement on August 6, with Ramallah Mayor Issa Kassis joining virtually.

 

The move was framed as a gesture of cultural cooperation and peace, but it carries significant political and moral implications.

Ramallah is not simply a cultural centre. It is governed by the PA — an unelected regime that hasn’t held national elections since 2006, jails dissidents, persecutes LGBTQ+ individuals, and pays stipends to the families of terrorists. The PA also refused to condemn Hamas’s October 7 massacre and continues to glorify violence against Israelis.

While Wellington officials insist the agreement is non-political, the messaging from Ramallah tells a different story. Mayor Kassis called the agreement a milestone “for all Palestinians,” especially “at a time of profound hardship for our nation.” That “nation” includes Hamas-led Gaza and the PLO’s rejection of Israel’s right to exist.

New Zealand’s Jewish community was not consulted in this decision. Many see it as a one-sided gesture that rewards authoritarianism and erases the trauma of recent events. A genuine city partnership should be grounded in shared democratic values, not gestures that sanitise incitement and terror.