Walsall could soon be forging closer links with the war-torn Palestinian town of Ramallah on the Israeli-occupied West Bank, council bosses revealed today.

The mayor of Ramallah, Janet Michael, was today meeting the mayor of Walsall, Councillor Barbara McCracken, to discuss setting up a friendship link between the two places and the twinning of schools. 

Blue Coat Performing Arts College in Birmingham Street and the Aisha Mosque in Palfrey have both expressed an interest in linking up with schools in the Palestinian town.

It is expected this will see children correspond with each other while the council would send equipment such as computers to the West Bank. Ramallah has strong ties with Birmingham, which encouraged Walsall Council to explore setting up its own links.

The link-up was first explored in December when two of Ramallah’s residents, Ola Nassra and Nassif Deek, visited the town.

Councillor McCracken said: “I was very pleased to welcome the mayor of Ramallah to discuss developing a link between the two areas.”

Ramallah, which is nine miles north of Jerusalem, has a population of just 15,000 compared with Walsall’s 253,000.