Another pro-Palestine protest held in Nicosia
The latest pro-Palestine protest in Cyprus occurred in Nicosia’s central Eleftheria square on a Saturday. The protest organizers claimed that nearly 27,000 Gazans had been killed by Israel since October 7 of the previous year. They criticized the European Union and other Western powers for choosing to defund the UNRWA after some members were accused of involvement in Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7. The protesters demanded an immediate permanent ceasefire, an end to the blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and for Israel to stop its actions in the West Bank. This protest followed a statement from the Palestinian embassy in Nicosia expressing disappointment with the Cypriot foreign ministry’s description of the genocide charges Israel faces at the International Court of Justice as “inaccurate.” Ministry spokesman Theodoros Gotsis had referred to the Palestinian casualties as “collateral damage,” which was met with a strong response from ambassador Abdallah Attari. Pro-Palestine protests have also occurred in other Cypriot cities and at British military facilities.