Gaziantep municipal council moves to sister‑city tie with Gaza

On 13 July 2026 the Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Council voted to begin formal sister‑city relations with Gaza, the capital of the Palestinian Authority. The council gave Mayor Fatma Şahin the authority to sign the partnership protocol. Şahin noted that Gaziantep already has 27 sister cities and said, “This is a stand – we want to be with Gaza and other regions in hard times; solidarity is our duty.”

The meeting also covered local projects: the Gazi Konut Bahçelievler housing scheme attracted 168,500 applications in the first five days, with a lottery planned for 5,000 units. Additional agenda items included a collaboration with the Turkish Environment Agency to expand bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, and approval for eight new domestically built train sets on the Gaziray line, which are expected to reduce intervals to 8‑10 minutes and boost daily capacity to 40‑50 thousand passengers.