The Cyprus Peace Council (CPC) has been following with feelings of deep concern the escalation of the hostilities and bloodshed in Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip, where so far hundreds of civilian casualties have been counted on both sides. The attacks on civilians, which constitute serious violations of international law, are reprehensible and lead to a greater impasse for peace in the region, with the danger of the conflict becoming a regional one.

The condemnable murderous attacks by Hamas on civilians were launched in retaliation for the chaos that was caused by the settlers with the support of the State of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories in the previous days with the waging of pogroms and the desecration of holy sites. These attacks constitute violations of international law and human rights that have been escalating for decades with the continuous occupation since 1967 and the colonisation of the Palestinian territories, with the daily violence being committed, with thousands of political prisoners behind bars, with the construction of separation walls and with the daily humiliation being suffered by the Palestinian people. The despair and injustice suffered for decades by the Palestinians as a result of the Israeli occupation will escalate the cycle of hostilities with military means.

What is imperative right now is the immediate intervention by the UN to end the hostilities with the aim of committing to finding a peaceful solution. The peoples of Palestine and Israel deserve better days, in a status of peace, security and stability. There is an urgent need for the establishment of an independent State of Palestine on the borders of 4 June 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, ending the occupation and colonisation of the Palestinian territories. The establishment of a Palestinian state will also signal the beginning of stability in the region of the Middle East.

The Cyprus Peace Council express its solidarity and support to the peoples of Palestine and Israel and at the same time calls on the peoples of the region to address a call for peace for the termination of the war and the solution of the Palestinian issue.

Cyprus Peace Council

Monday, 9 October 2023