For decades, Cyprus has cultivated steadily closer relations with Israel. Every Cypriot government, while firmly upholding the Palestinian people’s right to statehood, has simultaneously deepened cooperation with Israel. Far from being contradictory, this dual stance reflected Cyprus’ ability to pursue a balanced foreign policy, rooted in history, geography, and the shared challenges of the region.
But Cyprus is not a protectorate. It is an independent, sovereign republic. No government has the right, through action or omission, to give the impression otherwise. No bilateral partnership justifies one state’s subjugation to another. This must be stated clearly, especially amid the growing criticism at home of the Christodoulides government’s muted response to the ongoing tragedy in Gaza, a tragedy that long ago exhausted any justification invoked by the extremists currently ruling in Tel Aviv.
It is in this context that the recent directive from Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs is not only shocking but disgraceful. Addressed to the Cypriot ministers of Interior, Justice, and Public Order, it demanded the immediate removal of graffiti and slogans denouncing the genocide and persecution of Gaza’s residents, as well as any expressions of solidarity with the Palestinian struggle. The justification? A supposed effort to “strengthen actions against antisemitism and incitement to hatred in Cyprus.”
That Israel issues such instructions to another sovereign state in an effort to export its propaganda is one matter. The far more troubling issue is how the Christodoulides government, via the Presidential Diplomatic Office, no less, chose to transmit these instructions as if they were legitimate orders.
This raises the unavoidable question: Is the President of Cyprus acting as the representative of a sovereign people, or as the proxy of a radical regime in our neighborhood, one whose actions are increasingly condemned across the international community?
The government, the President, and at the very least the Foreign Minister, owe the Cypriot people answers. Here, silence does not mean neutrality. It means complicity.
