Cyprus-based advocacy group United for Palestine has announced a demonstration in solidarity with the Palestinian people next Sunday, November 26 in Nicosia.
Titled “Cyprus Stands with Palestine,” the protest will start at 4 p.m. at Eleftheria Square.
The demonstration is a response to the violence in Palestine, where, as the group notes, “Over 11,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed since October 7, 2023,” after the start of the war between Hamas and Israel.
United for Palestine’s announcement emphasises the situation in Palestine, highlighting that “more than half of these casualties are children,” and that crucial infrastructure such as “hospitals, supermarkets, and schools have been targeted and reduced to rubble.”
The group also draws attention to the plight of Palestinians who are “starved, deprived of water, electricity, fuel, and medical aid, and expelled from their homes, perhaps never to return.”
The severity of the situation is further illustrated by the group’s claim that the “bombardments in Gaza” were “equivalent to twice the force of a nuclear attack.”
United for Palestine also criticises the Cypriot government’s stance, accusing it of “enabling these crimes alongside the US and many other European governments,” particularly for its refusal “to call for an immediate ceasefire and to cut ties with this genocidal regime.”
The group’s demands are: “An immediate and abiding ceasefire NOW—a humanitarian pause is not enough,” and they call for an end to Israel’s “criminal blockade on Gaza” and the expansion of “illegal Israeli settlements.”
Furthermore, they urge the Cypriot government to “cut economic and strategic ties with Israel.”
Following the protest, a vigil is planned to commemorate the victims of the war and highlight the urgent need for peace and humanitarian assistance in the region.
Another large Pancyprian protest in solitary with Palestine is scheduled to take place in Limassol, on Sunday, December 3.
(Photo by Antonia Maria Nicolaides)
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