Parliament ‘cannot be turned into Israel lobby’ says Akel

Akel has accused Disy, Diko and Elam of turning the House into a lobby for Israel, after the three parties launched a parliamentary group with the Israel Allies Foundation. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the party called the move “extremely provocative” and said it was “unprecedented” in Cypriot parliamentary history. The party asked how Cypriot MPs taking part could be “reconciled with the island’s struggle against the Turkish occupation, which rests on international law and UN resolutions”. It asked what message this sent and with what credibility Cyprus could demand pressure on Turkey while backing “another occupying and settler state”. The group has six members, those Andreas Apostolou and Chrysis Pantelides of Diko, George Karoullas and Charalambos Petrides of Disy, and Sotiris Ioannou and Marios Pelekanos of Elam. The three parties united hold a majority of 33 out of the 56 seats in the House. It follows a Cyprus chapter of Transatlantic Friends of Israel, launched two weeks earlier with MPs from the same parties. Akel said the American Jewish Committee, which created the Transatlantic group, has organised a campaign to vote against resolutions and abolish UN mechanisms it labels “anti-Israel”. It also pointed to Israel’s “continued occupation and settlement of Palestinian territory”, and to a finding by the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry that “genocide has been committed in Gaza”. Akel said even Israel’s traditional Western allies were imposing sanctions on officials in the Netanyahu government and promoting measures against illegal settlements. The party directed its criticism at President Nikos Christodoulides’ government, citing the presence of ministers at the events and the president’s reception of the foundation’s leadership. Akel said occupation and violations of international law “could not be judged according to the perpetrator”. Foundation president Josh Reinstein told reporters after the delegation met Christodoulides that Turkey was a “common adversary” of Cyprus and Israel. He said relations between the two countries had developed at an “unprecedented pace” under the president.