INJUSTICES in Palestine were behind a council's decision to extend the hand of friendship to a town in the conflict-hit country.

Bradford on Avon councillors voted unanimously to back the idea from Friends chairman Judith Hammond for a friendship gesture between Bradford on Avon and Tubas after it was approached by the Friends of Palestine group.

Mrs Hammond told councillors: “I witnessed many injustices while I was visiting this country and freedom of movement was the biggest. We paid for two people in Tubas to come over in 2014 and everywhere they went they told their histories, with no bitterness.

“At some point we would need help with funding but our key aim is friendship, action to encourage two- way communication which involves our town reaching out to Tubas, because they do feel isolated. It would be great to know they feel equals to our town.”

“We’re doing this for friendship not political reasons, the injustices are there, it is fact and it’s nothing we can hide.

“We just want to help them and be friends and give them a sense of worth.”

Tubas is in the northeastern West Bank, northeast of Nablus, west of the Jordan Valley, and is home to over 40,000 people.

Cllr Alex Kay told the meeting: “Each time a group wants any kind of friendship we have to look at funding as a completely separate detail of the proposal. At this time, this isn’t on the table so I feel first of all I would support the idea of a peace gesture and a friendship, even if it is just a Skype call or letters between the schools.”

Cllr Dom Newton, leader of the council, said: “It would be lovely to see that feeling spread in lots of countries around the world. This is about bringing people together.

“We’re not committing ourselves to any course of action other than a gesture of friendship.”

The town already has formal twinning links with Sully-sur-Loire, in France, and Norden, in Germany. These involve exchange visits between the towns .

At this stage the council is exploring a friendship with Tubas, and has not ruled out creating a formal twinning link in the future.

The Friends of Palestine group was formed in Bradford in 2013 and holds monthly meetings.