The Embassy of Israel in Nicosia, Cyprus, Tuesday night issued a statement categorically denying a newspaper report which claimed that the Embassy advised Israelis living in Cyprus to stay at home unless it is absolutely necessary to go outside.
The report, it said, was basically a reproduction of a post by a Russian-Jewish website.
The report was published by the oldest and largest-selling Greek Cypriot newspaper “O Phileleftheros” and caused upheaval among the island’s Jewish community.
The Israeli Embassy’s statement lambasted what it described as, “the false and misleading report suggesting that it issued serious security warnings to Israeli citizens on the island.”
It also emphasized that the report “is a complete fabrication with no basis in fact” and that it is “regrettable and unfortunate that news outlets publish unverified and false claims without seeking confirmation from reliable sources.”
“Such reports not only mislead readers but can create unnecessary alarm among the public,” concluded the statement.
This incident follows two separate events in the last 24 hours: The first was a news report revealing that flights to and from Paphos airport by Israeli airlines had been suspended “for security reasons” following an instruction by the Shin Bet. This was followed by the painting of anti-Israel graffiti by persons unknown on several buildings in the city of Larnaca.
Although the Municipality of Larnaca immediately intervened and erased all of the graffiti, the fact that this occurred on International Holocaust Remembrance Day caused additional concern and anger.
Cyprus Police have already collected CCTV footage from security cameras in the areas where the chants had been written, in order to identify and arrest the perpetrators.
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