Political expediencies should not get in the way of getting aid to Gaza, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Monday, as he reiterated his proposal over the maritime humanitarian corridor from Cyprus to Gaza.
Speaking to reporters about a meeting he had earlier in the day with the UN’s senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, from the Netherlands, Christodoulides stressed humanitarian aid to Gaza should be sent immediately.
“We are working together to implement the maritime humanitarian corridor from Cyprus to Gaza. It is not the only option, there are other options, but in view of the serious humanitarian needs, humanitarian aid should be provided immediately.”
Kaag was in Cyprus and will also be visiting Israel, Christodoulides said.
“She will then brief the Secretary-General and we hope that the conditions that will allow the maritime humanitarian corridor to function normally will soon be in place.”
The president said Cyprus is cooperating with Britain, the Netherlands, the EU “and all the states that can contribute towards this direction”.
Last month, the UK’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron appeared to have sunk Cyprus’ maritime humanitarian corridor ambitions, after he told the House of Lords “the best way to get aid into Gaza is through trucks.”
He said the ‘over the beach’ option had proved to be very difficult – referring to the debacle over the RFA Lyme Bay which was not allowed to dock for two weeks after setting off from the UK and had a stop in Cyprus.
Responding to a journalist’s question connected to the desperate needs of the people in Gaza, Christodoulides said: “Exactly. And there should not be any political incentives that make it difficult to implement such options. The criterion that must judge any existing options, such as this Cypriot proposal, is the needs of the people in Gaza which are clearly increasing day by day.”