Palestinian president expected in Cyprus on Thursday

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas will be visiting Cyprus on Thursday, with talks on the island focusing on bilateral relations, the humanitarian situation in Gaza and developments in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The visit’s schedule includes Abbas’ arrival at the presidential palace and a tete-a-tete meeting with President Nikos Christodoulides followed by a working lunch The trip comes as the government faces criticism over its increasing support for Israeli interests in Cyprus. Akel has attacked the creation of a Cyprus chapter of the Israel Allies Foundation by six MPs from Disy, Diko and Elam, which the party has said undermines the credibility of Cyprus in its efforts to press Turkey internationally on its ongoing occupation. Cyprus recognised the State of Palestine immediately after its declaration in 1988. When Abbas visited in June 2022, then President Nicos Anastasiades pledged that close ties with Israel “would not be to the detriment of the legitimate rights of the Palestinians”. President Nikos Christodoulides visited Ramallah in 2023 and laid a wreath at Yasser Arafat’s tomb, and in March 2024 the first aid ship for Gaza left a Cypriot port. Abbas has led the Palestinian Authority since 2005, with his Fatah-dominated authority governing parts of the West Bank, while Hamas ran the Gaza strip.