Protest in solidarity with Palestine held near Israeli embassy

A peaceful protest for solidarity with the Palestinian people was held near the Israeli embassy in Nicosia on Thursday evening, monitored by a heavy police presence.

The event was organised by ‘Thira 9’ (Gate 9) – a group of supporters of the Omonia football club.

No disturbances took place. The crowd began dispersing around 9.30pm.

The demonstration began at about 7pm with a gathering at the Pasydy union building, with the participants then walking along Grivas Dighenis Avenue, close to the location of the Israeli embassy.

For the duration of the demo, the police closed off to vehicles the section of the avenue from the Honda traffic lights to the Milano lights.

In a post on Facebook, the organisers called their demo “a march of solidarity with the people of Palestine who are forbidden from living in their own state.”

It added: “For several years Thira 9 has had a crystal-clear position on the Palestinian issue. We are for secular forces and not for Hamas. Today we will allow no religious symbol nor any other symbol [to be displayed] that would run contrary to our ideas.”

Meanwhile also on Thursday, the US Embassy in Cyprus advised US citizens here to avoid “large crowds and protests.”

The embassy posted on X (formerly Twitter): “We are closely monitoring developments in Israel & the Middle East, some of which have led to protests throughout the world, including in Cyprus.  As demonstrations can be unpredictable, US citizens in Cyprus are advised to avoid large crowds & protests.