“When I read some of the testimonies of Greek Cypriots about the horrific events that took place in the summer of 1974, I wasn’t sure if they were describing the atrocities committed by Turkish soldiers 50 years ago or those perpetrated by Hamas terrorists seven months ago,” says Oren Anolik.
But such nuances are lost on the average Cypriot, who insists on seeing themselves as allies of the Palestinians.
Why? Because that’s what they were taught since the 1960s when there was neither an invasion nor an occupation in Cyprus.
Yet what Anolik described in his speech at the event marking 76 years since the founding of the State of Israel, reflects a reality. The horrors endured by Cypriots at the hands of Turkish soldiers in 1974 were also experienced by the residents of southern Israel just a few months ago.
Just hours before Anolik’s speech, a statement by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas referred to the “Greek administration of southern Cyprus.” The statement was issued to express gratitude for the decision of three European countries to recognise the Palestinian state, and it took the opportunity to mention those European countries that have already done so.
Specifically, the last paragraph of the official statement by the Palestinian President reads as follows: “It is worth noting that eight members of the European Union already recognise Palestine, namely Bulgaria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, the Greek Administration of Southern Cyprus, and Sweden.”
A photo of the entire official statement by the office of the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, is attached, as posted on May 22, 2024, at 11:23 am, on the website of the official WAFA news agency of the Palestinian Authority.
Clarifications had to be made that the Arabic text (in which the official announcements are made in Ramallah) referred to Cyprus. The explanations given immediately afterwards were that there had been a translation error. And obviously, the employee who translated from Arabic to English used the most common phrase.
The Palestinian Ambassador to Cyprus, Abdallah Attari, said, “An employee made a translation mistake, I don’t know how it got out. The Presidency was immediately informed, the mistake was corrected, and an official announcement was made referring to the Republic of Cyprus.”
I don’t know how another country would react if the same term were used in their announcement, but the reactions in Cyprus were mild. You see, a certain approach has been internalised, and even such serious blunders are overlooked by some as if they never happened. They did it in the past, so why not do it now when so many people abroad are taking to the streets for the Palestinians?
Some people are talking about how important a development the decision of three countries (Spain, Ireland, and Norway) to recognise Palestine can be. Here it is worth noting that Cyprus recognised the State of Palestine in 1988 and didn’t wait until 2024!
Where were Spain, Ireland, and Norway all these years when it came to recognising Palestine? Obviously, there weren’t the same mobilisations then that these governments could rely on or use as an excuse to make announcements. And surely nothing will change because of the decisions of these countries. After all, Palestine is already recognised by about 140 countries.
The problem is not how many countries recognise Palestine, but the form of the state. Before October 7, it wasn’t Israel that was in control of Gaza, but Hamas, a terrorist organisation that imposed itself through elections and terror. An organisation that used Palestinians to destroy the State of Israel, and what they achieved was the total destruction and death of not only hundreds of Israelis but also thousands of Palestinians.
So, the problem is not whether Palestinians will have a state, but the Islamist terrorists who aim to ensure that Israelis do not have a state. And in that, they will not succeed…
