A proposal to twin the Lancashire city of Preston with the besieged Palestinian town of Nablus was thrown out after councillors voted against it.

The proposal was a culmination of a campaign headed by Socialist Alliance councillor Michael Lavalette.

Supporters of the proposal said that the twinning would draw attention to the Palestine-Israel conflict and the plight of Palestinians. In particular, they wished to draw attention to Israel's controversial Apartheid wall built on Palestinian land which they claim will cut off Palestinian towns and villages from the outside world.

In a vote on October 30th in Preston City Council Chamber, 18 councillors voted for the proposal and 33 voted against.

A statement from supporters read, "Naturally we are disappointed at this setback but our campaign is not over. We will be holding meetings over the next few weeks to discuss our next step.

"We will be encouraging those who took part in the campaign - from the mosques, churches and unions - to make their own twinning arrangements with similar organisations in Nablus.

"During the debate council leader John Collins suggested Preston City Council should establish a charitable link with Nablus and we will now pursue this with him."

"At an appropriate point in the future we will bring this motion back to Council in the hope and expectation that the council will realise the importance of joining the international solidarity movement in support of the oppressed people of Palestine.

Israel has vowed to complete construction of the wall, despite a UN General Assembley resolution condemning it. Mark Hendrick, the MP for Preston said, "Palestinian people are being cut off from their land at every opportunity and are having an oppressive wall built through their territory and not around their territory as the Israelis claim."

Ghassan Elnshakah, Mayor of Nablus, "Given our situation, we appreciate highly this kind initiative from you as a solidarity action with the Palestinian people."

The proposal was initially discussed at a packed public meeting earlier and was met with widespread approval from the city's community leaders and various human rights groups. Veteran campaigners and former government minister Tony Benn was supportive of the move, as was George Galloway MP. The mayor of Nablus expressed support for the gesture of solidarity.

If the initiative had suceeded, it would not have been the first time that a British city is twinned with its Palestinian equivalent. The London Borough of Hounslow is already twinned with Ramallah. Leeds council is also considering twinning with Hebron.