The Cyprus Peace Council has issued a call to action for “all peace-loving and progressive organisations, and anyone whose conscience is stirred by the ongoing situation in Gaza“.
The council is organising a mass demonstration to condemn what it describes as “Israel’s genocidal policy” and the “unacceptable support” provided by the Cypriot government to “the genocide of Palestinians”.
The protest will take place on Monday, 26 May 2025, at 18:30 outside the Presidential Palace.
The organisation strongly condemns the Cypriot government’s rejection of a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which was requested by a majority of EU member states at the Foreign Affairs Council held yesterday in Brussels.
It also expresses dismay at the government’s rejection of UN appeals for immediate provision of food, water and medicines to children in Gaza.
The council notes that voluntary organisations and the UN have issued urgent appeals to save 14,000 infants and children who they say are at risk of death in the coming days without immediate food and medical supplies.
“The Cypriot people have experienced war and refugee status, and continue to live with injustice and occupation in their own homeland,” the statement reads.
“We are above all human beings – and nothing separates us from human suffering,” it adds.
The council urges people to send a strong message of solidarity with the people of Gaza and what it calls a popular condemnation of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government policies.
Οn May 19, 2025, 22 countries issued a joint statement urging Israel to immediately allow the full resumption of humanitarian aid into Gaza, citing the risk of starvation among the population.
The statement, signed by foreign ministers from nations including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and several European Union members, acknowledged the limited restart of aid but emphasised that food, medicines, and essential supplies were exhausted, and the population faced starvation.
The signatories also opposed Israeli proposals to alter the aid distribution framework within Gaza, asserting that the United Nations and humanitarian organisations should be allowed to operate independently and impartially. Cyprus was not among the 22 signatories.
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