Tel Aviv has a surprising sister city located just down the coastline: Gaza City.

However, the Tel Aviv municipality may nullify the 1998 pact that bound the two towns as central cities sharing various cultural ties - signed by former Tel Aviv mayor Roni Milo before the intifada broke out - now that Israel has declared the Gaza Strip an enemy entity as per the suggestion of Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

According to an article on Ma'ariv's Web site, Tel Aviv Deputy Mayor Arnon Giladi recently approached Mayor Ron Huldai requesting to cut ties with Gaza City.

"At this time, Israeli cities are under daily missile barrages and attempted terror attacks that originate in the Gaza Strip," Giladi said. "An Israeli soldier is being held by terrorists who actively control Gaza City … It would be appropriate for the Tel Aviv municipality to consider and examine the unilateral cancellation of the twin-city treaty with Gaza - or at least freezing it until the goals and aims behind the treaty exist again."

Huldai's office said in response that "the Tel Aviv municipality is not maintaining any ties with Gaza, anyway. In any case, [the prospect of] canceling the treaty officially will be examined in the coming days."

Tel Aviv has 26 twin cities worldwide, including New York and Barcelona.

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