Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan renewed the twin city alliance with the Hempstead municipality in New York, after a Democrat was elected mayor of the city.
Bruce Blakeman, a member of the Republican Party and of the Hempstead City Council who is close to the settlement in Judea and Samaria, is a staunch supporter of Israel.
Blakeman agreed with Dagan on strengthening relations and increasing cooperation between Samaria and Hempstead, and decided to create "twin schools" - joint activities for the schools of the Samaria Council and New York City.
"I'm very happy to be here and re-ratify the Twin Cities Alliance between Hempstead and Samaria," Blakeman said. "We signed the agreement in 2016 and reaffirmed it today, 2019, and we also commit ourselves to joint activities between the schools in Samaria and Hempstead.
"We believe this will be another joint activity of cooperation and understanding between our students that are the future of both countries," he added.
Shomron Council head Dagan said, "As we stand together in Hempstead's historic building, we feel we're together and not only in political agreements. We're going to create genuine cooperation between Samaria and Hempstead, between your schools and our schools. Together we can create a common culture and cooperation that will grow and help residents on both sides and students on both sides."