Israeli President Isaac Herzog is making an extraordinary visit to Cyprus on Thursday.

Citing sources, the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) reported that Herzog’s visit is related to the “intergovernmental Cyprus-Egypt and trilateral Cyprus, Greece, Egypt talks in Cairo” and developments in the region, particularly in Syria.

According to CNA “the change in US leadership occasioned the coming together of countries in the region.”

Earlier President Nikos Christodoulides arrived in Cairo, Egypt for meetings with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, to be followed by a trilateral meeting including Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

The meetings were to take in a wide scope of topics, including cooperation on matters of energy and defence.

The Cyprus Peace Council announced its intention to protest Herzog’s visit, describing his presence in Cyprus as “provocative”.

They called on people to gather at the Larnaca airport roundabout at 4pm and then at the Presidential palace at 4.30pm, to “send a strong message that Cypriots do not compromise with war and the policy of extermination of the Palestinian people”.

“At the same time that the Israeli army is murdering tens of thousands of civilians, women, children, and the elderly in Palestine and Lebanon, the President of Israel cannot and must not be welcome in Cyprus,” they said.

They added that Herzog’s visit “constitutes a downright provocation for the Cypriot people, who are fighting their own battle against the occupation, but also for the peoples who are fighting for peace and justice”.

“We are sending a resounding clear message that the genocide against the Palestinian people and the military operations committed by the murderous state of Israel must end!”