Palestine’s foreign minister is set to visit Cyprus to discuss growing concerns that the humanitarian corridor to Gaza may be ‘instrumentalised’ by Israel to displace residents in the besieged enclave, it emerged on Friday.
Though a date has not been set, Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki is expected to arrive in Cyprus soon.
The fears concern the maritime humanitarian corridor, where aid ships are supposed to leave Cyprus and reach Gaza to deliver supplies. Dubbed the Amalthia plan, it requires the green light from Israel to go ahead.
The Palestinian ambassador to Cyprus told Politis that that Palestine trusts Cyprus’ intentions but not those of Israel.
“We are suspicious over Israel’s intention and how it may take advantage of the Amalthia plan. We don’t know what plans they have and how they will instrumentalise the corridor.”
Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis sought to stress that the corridor from Cyprus to Gaza is envisioned to operate only as a one-way route and only deliver aid.
He underlined that that while Cyprus was preparing its plans for Amalthia, both the president and foreign minister held meetings with the leadership of the Palestinian Authority to present the initiative.
Letymbiotis said that in October Cyprus’ Foreign Minister Konstantinos Kombos was in Ramallah “precisely to discuss the situation in the area and the initiative, which also takes into consideration the concerns of the Palestinian Authority.”
Cyprus has been touting the maritime humanitarian corridor as a means to send aid to the besieged enclave in Gaza, despite EU concerns over ‘logistical difficulties’.
A shipment of aid on the RFA Lyme Bay which was part of a coordinated effort between the UK and Cyprus failed to successfully dock in Gaza and deliver the supplies.
After two weeks after leaving the island the RFA Lyme Bay ultimately docked in Egypt’s Port Said to deliver the aid through the Rafah crossing, with reports saying Israel had security concerns.
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