Prevent the nightmare eventuality of a generalized war in our region

 

AKEL expresses its deep concern over the unprecedented escalation of the situation in the Middle East following also yesterday’s missile strikes by Iran on Israeli targets in response to the Israeli attacks on Lebanon. The risks to the security of all the states and peoples in our region are more serious than ever.  We join with those who call for an immediate de-escalation, ceasefire and peace and call for the UN’s appeals to all sides to be heeded in order to avert the nightmarish possibility of a generalised war, which is now even closer.

Things are, unfortunately, developing in the direction planned and orchestrated by the Netanyahu government, which is simultaneously attacking Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen and Syria and seeking a conflict with Iran, in order to provoke an overall conflagration in which the Israeli-US-UK military power will reorganise the whole Middle East to their liking. This scenario would mean countless human lives, rivers of blood, new uprooting and refugees, devastation and destruction, but also greater insecurity, while the consequences could be catastrophic given the presence of nuclear weapons in the region. The State of Israel is the arsonist in the region and the West continues to cover, support and arm it, since it constitutes its long and steely arm in the region.

AKEL considers unacceptable the choice of the Cypriot government – as well as the EU and the West as a whole – to condemn only the actions-reactions of others against Israel but to remain systematically silent on the genocide and atrocities committed by the State of Israel. This attitude demeans the credibility and dignity of the country. We call on the Christodoulides’ government to condemn the genocide in Gaza, the invasion of Lebanon and all other Israeli war crimes in the region. We again call on the government to raise with the British government the issue of the involvement of the British Bases in the war on the side of Israel, which multiplies the risks to the security of our island. Cyprus, because of its proximity to the region is exposed to more dangers and therefore has more reason to consistently stand on principled positions and on the side of peace and international law.

2.10.2024