Greek Cyprus seeks to stem Israelis’ property transactions

Responding to a formal question from a lawmaker, Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis said her government was discussing the situation with the Israeli government.

The lawmaker was referring to reports in the Turkish Cypriot media that Israelis were buying property in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) to create “settlements” for them.

The property they purchase belonged to the Greek Cypriots before 1974, when Turkey sent troops to the island to protect the island’s Turkish population from an ethnic cleansing that was launched in the aftermath of a coup by supporters of unification of the island with Greece. The property disputes now constitute one of the most difficult aspects of the Cyprus problem. The Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders have held dozens of rounds of UN-backed talks since 2008, but the talks have failed to produce any breakthrough so far on the property dispute or any other contested issue.

Kozakou-Marcoullis said the Greek Cypriot government has discussed the possibility of introducing legal measures in Israel to prevent Israeli purchase of property that belonged to the Greek Cypriots in the north of the island.