Since the October terrorist attack by Hamas and the retaliatory onslaught by Israel, the Israeli embassy in Nicosia has taken security measures with the assistance of the Cypriot Police.
Police officers are stationed on all roads surrounding the embassy, and a road (from Griva Digeni Avenue) has been closed from the early days of the incident.
Another road, of course, since the first one (from Prodromou Avenue) has been permanently closed for decades. In other words, for the sake of the embassy, a public road has become private.
However, these roads do not only lead to the embassy; they also lead to a neighbourhood of Agioi Omologites, where Cypriot citizens live.
The closed road and the police presence in the neighbourhood (because having to pass through three or four police patrols to get to your home is a form of police state) have been there for almost six months now.
Citizens struggle to reach their homes if they appear “suspicious” to our police (if they’re in a bad mood), any citizen who complains might receive a harsh response, inflaming tensions.
Sure, embassy security is paramount, especially these days. But the safety and quality of life for citizens are also crucial.
As if all this wasn’t enough, suddenly more obstacles (a photograph) were placed on the only open road. What will happen to the people’s neighbourhood? Does the Cypriot state care or has it surrendered its citizens to a foreign embassy?
Embassies of countries with enemies and at risk of attacks, like the USA and Russia, have made sure to establish themselves in large areas surrounded by walls, keeping everyone at a distance.
The Israeli embassy, with the help of the Cypriot state, has settled in a shared apartment building, within a neighbourhood, amidst houses and citizens. What does this mean? It means that the citizens living there act as human shields.
After all, next month, the old residents of the neighbourhood will remember, as they do every year, the most shocking terrorist attack that occurred in Cyprus. May 11, 1988.
Arabs tried to approach the embassy in a car filled with explosives. They failed; the police chased them away, and they sped off.
They reached the Pedieos bridge on Griva Digeni, a hundred to two hundred meters away, where the horrific explosion took place.
Two innocent citizens were killed, and eighteen were injured. The embassy was protected, but the citizens, passers-by, and residents on the bustling streets of the Cypriot capital were defenseless.
We don’t expect that today, especially under the current circumstances, anyone from the Cypriot government will cause problems for the Israeli embassy.
However, if Netanyahu wants to continue the war until he exterminates all Palestinians and then moves on to Lebanon or Iran, will the neighbourhood of Agioi Omologites forever remain under siege?
P.S. By the way, how many police officers guard the Palestinian embassy?
