Israeli President Isaac Herzog held a diplomatic meeting with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides in Jerusalem on Sunday as part of his solidarity visit in the wake of the latest Houthi attack targeting Tel Aviv.
“I want to congratulate you, Mr. President, for being the first world leader to set foot in Israel, in Ben-Gurion Airport, following the missile attack this morning by the Houthis,” said Herzog, according to his office.
“You are showing incredible friendship and solidarity, and we are grateful for that. We always remember our friends,” Herzog added.
A ballistic missile fired from Yemen struck near the Jewish state’s main international airport on Sunday morning, lightly to moderately wounding six people and disrupting takeoffs and arrivals.
“You know that we have excellent air and defense systems—but it is an example to the entire world community about the violation of all rules of international law by a terrorist organization of about 50,000 people, a small tribe in Yemen having ballistic missiles and cruise missiles and drones of an empire,” the Israeli head of state told Christodoulides.
Noting Iran’s support for the Houthis, Herzog stressed that their latest assault “shows the empire of evil from Tehran, how it heavily arms its proxies, influencing the cost of living, of travel, of everything.
“We have a common goal to make sure that stability and security are returned at once,” he continued.
In June, Hassan Nasrallah, the since-slain leader of Lebanon’s Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist army, threatened that Cyprus would be considered “a part of the war” if the Eastern Mediterranean island nation allowed Israel to use its airports and bases for drills.
“I want to congratulate you, Mr. President, on Cyprus assuming the presidency of the European Union. There are very important issues on the agenda between our nations and between Israel and the E.U.,” Herzog said, thanking Nicosia for its assistance in the wake of the wildfires that plagued central Israel last week.
Christodoulides sat down with the families of hostages held by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip ahead of the meeting with Herzog, he noted.
“There’s nothing more urgent on our agenda than bringing them back home. There has to be an international effort together with all the parties concerned,” emphasized Herzog. “There are the mediators, both Qatar and Egypt, who are doing major effort to mediate, but at the end, you have to have a party out there that is willing to accept it, and Hamas is always refusing to answer.”
Christodoulides opened his remarks by congratulating Herzog and the people of Israel on the occasion of the country’s 77th Independence Day, which was celebrated on Wednesday evening and Thursday.
“Like Israel did in a number of cases, Cyprus forces were here next to the Israeli forces to deal with the wildfires,” he said. “Let me repeat my very strong belief that only through regional cooperation based on a positive agenda, we can tackle the challenges we have to face every day.”
Christodoulides said his country is a “reliable neighbor, working for more cooperation—not only to face the challenges, but also to take advantage of the great potential of our region, always for the benefit of our peoples.
“Before coming here, I met the families of hostages. It was a deeply moving experience. This is a purely humanitarian issue. This is not a political issue. This is not a geopolitical issue,” he said. “The hostages must be must be released, and in this effort, be sure that Cyprus will do whatever is necessary in order to bring all hostages back.”