By Lynne Stewart

THE SILVER anniversary of Dundee’s link with the Palestinian town of Nablus was marked on Saturday when a re-affirmation of the twinning was signed in both cities.

Lord Provost John Letford held a civic reception at City Chambers, joined by invited delegates from Nablus organisations.

The milestone was also celebrated in Nablus, where a delegation from Dundee had travelled for the signing of the document by acting mayor Ghassan Hamouz.

The idea of twinning Dundee with Nablus was first mooted in October 1980 after its then-mayor Bassam Shak’a lost his legs when his car was booby-trapped.

He came to the UK to be fitted with new limbs and due to existing trade links between Dundee and the region the twinning process began.

Despite considerable opposition, the decision to twin the two cities was passed by Dundee District Council on November 18, 1980.

Over the years several visits between the two cities have taken place, though this has become increasingly difficult owing to the security situation.

Jim Gowans, who was lord provost at the start of the twinning arrangement, was at the ceremony in the City Chambers on Saturday.

He said, “We did look and think about many cities but decided to support Nablus. It wasn’t well-received in the city at that time but I am happy that it has endured.

“Nablus is a fine town with a university and a chamber of commerce and with a population of around 150,000 it is very similar to Dundee.”

A photograph of the initial signing of the twinning document in Nablus was beamed on to an overhead projector in the City Chambers.

Mr Gowans explained that at the time he and rest of the party from Dundee had enjoyed their visit.

He continued, “Unfortunately, things deteriorated in the Middle East and it’s never been possible to visit Nablus as often as Orleans, Wurzburg or Alexandria in the USA.”

He hoped that the relationship with Nablus would become more like that of Dundee’s other twins.

Mr Letford said, “We’ve come through 25 very difficult years and all credit, or certainly most of it, must go to the twinning committee of the city who in very difficult circumstances have made this possible.

“The situation in that part of the world is easing and we are hopeful that barriers will be lifted and we will be able to make trips to Nablus in the future.”

Sarah Stephens, part of the Dundee Nablus Twinning Association delegation now on the West Bank, explained in an Email to The Courier they had met Palestinian billionaire business man Munib Al-Masri, who told them he has great affection for Dundee and had been involved in many ventures over the past 25 years.

Professor Rami Hamdallah, president of An-Najah University, said he welcomed the opportunity to collaborate further with Abertay University in Dundee.

Greetings were carried to Nablus by twinning association chairman Dr Phil Collier.

After the meeting with the mayor the delegation visited the Jacob’s Well, a well-known Nablus tourist site.

They then undertook a series of educational and cultural meetings at An-Najah University.

Ms Stephens said the delegation were impressed by locals’ knowledge of twinning and by the obvious affection in which Dundee is held by the people of Nablus.

This year has already seen visits to Dundee from Nablus teachers keen to establish links between schools and teenagers from a refugee camp.