Controversy arises over meeting with Israeli national security minister

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit to Cyprus and meeting with Justice Minister Anna Procopiou has caused a lot of controversy, as she is the first EU member state minister to meet with the controversial politician.

Ben-Gvir, who is known for his anti-Arab and Palestinian views and actions, even having a portrait of an Israeli American terrorist, who killed dozens of Palestinians and injured 125, in his office prior to becoming a minister. On October 13, 2022, in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem, Ben-Gvir took part in the clashes between Israeli Jewish settlers and the local Palestinian residents, brandishing a gun, telling the police to shoot at Palestinians throwing stones at the scene, and yelling at them that “We’re the landlords here, remember that; I am your landlord.”

Last May, the EU’s mission to Israel had announced that it was cancelling an event for Europe Day in Tel Aviv, because Ben-Gvir had said he would attend and give a speech.

In a statement on May 8, the EU mission to Israel had stated that “we do not want to offer a platform to someone whose views contradict the values the European Union stands for.”

EU member state officials are free to meet with anyone they think necessary bilaterally, European Commission spokesman Peter Stano said on Wednesday, commenting on the visit of the highly controversial Israeli politician to Cyprus.

Meanwhile in Cyprus on Friday, government sources, remaining unnamed, went on record to defend Procopiou’s meeting calling it unofficial and only to thank the Israeli politician for his country’s help with a recent fire in the Alassa area of Limassol that burnt 9 square kilometres.

Ben-Gvir had been in Cyprus on a family holiday in Paphos, where small protests had taken place the previous days, but come to the scene of the fire, when the Israeli planes came to help.

“There was no political expedience as regards this meeting. Our position on issues related to political sensitivities does not of course deviate from the EU approach. This is our horizontal policy, and this is what applies in this case as well,” the sources said, commenting on criticism over the meeting.

They added that the meeting with the Israeli official was an informal one that was not prescheduled but was arranged on an ad hoc basis at his own request as he represented the state of Israel and is the competent minister for the aircraft and the crews that were in Cyprus.

Although informal, the statement issued on the day of the visit mentioned that the discussions at the meetings also focused on talking about terrorism and other matters.

Amid the criticism, Procopiou also visited with Palestinian Ambassador to Cyprus Abdallah Hatem Attari on Friday to discuss the exchange with Ben-Gvir.

According to a statement from the ministry, Procopiou referred to the casual nature of the meeting, which took place as a formal response to a relevant initiative of the said Israeli minister, responsible for supervision of the aviation means of his country.

She assured that the position of the Republic of Cyprus on matters of political sensitivities has never deviated, nor deviated, from the EU’s predetermined approach, according to the announcement.

The announcement said that following President Nikos Christodoulides recent visit to Palestine, the justice ministry is examining the prospect of cooperation between the fire and police bodies with joint trainings and exchange of best practices.

The commitment to strengthening Cyprus-Palestine cooperation is mutual “on the basis of our unshakable bilateral relations and practical solidarity,” the ministry said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Weighing in, opposition Akel called on the Christodoulides government to answer whether it understands the limits set by the democratic authorities towards such representatives of the extreme right and toxic intolerance, as Ben-Gvir.

Akel spokesman Giorgos Koukoumas told the Cyprus Mail: “Ben Gvir is a far-right Israeli politician who became famous for his toxic rhetoric and provocative actions.”

Koukoumas added that Ben-Gvir was looking for a way to break the international isolation took advantage of the opportunity with the help his country sent to Cyprus to put out the fire.

“Of course, he was not in Cyprus for that reason, but for vacation. Therefore, the Cypriot government should not have played his game and it is inconceivable that it became the first EU government to meet with such a person,” he said.

He added that the government should know that fascists of all nationalities must remain in political isolation.

Asked to comment on why a Cypriot politician should meet with an Israeli politician that supports Jewish settlers and settlements in Palestinian areas, when Cyprus is constantly decrying Turkey’s policy of settlement in the north, Koukoumas said that the government should not be turning a blind eye to this fact.

“If the government of Cyprus chooses to collude with individuals who thirst for violence and defend gross violations of international law and, more generally, if it turns a blind eye to the fact that the state of Israel is an occupying and settlement force in the Palestinian territories, then this is not only problematic from the point of view of ethics and international law.”

He added that this is damaging also for Cyprus and the country’s credibility in denouncing Turkey’s actions.

“It is politically damaging for our country itself because it nullifies the credibility of Cyprus when it denounces Turkey’s occupation and settlement of our island,” he said.