Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides visited Egypt and Jordan on Tuesday as part of a diplomatic initiative to discuss the creation of a maritime corridor for delivering aid directly to the besieged Gaza Strip by Israel. The island nation in the eastern Mediterranean is leading a campaign to establish an aid corridor from the coastal city of Larnaca directly to Gaza, which has been under Israeli bombardment for two months in an offensive against Hamas fighters.
During brief visits to Egypt and Jordan, Christodoulides met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Jordanian King Abdullah to discuss ways to increase the flow of aid to the Palestinian territory. A Cypriot official mentioned that "Jordan and Egypt recognize the added value of the corridor." Christodoulides also visited Qatar last week.
The Cypriot plan aims to enhance the capacity to provide humanitarian relief directly to the Gaza Strip, going beyond the limited aid deliveries currently taking place through the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Palestinian territories. Britain has already offered Cypriot ships to transport aid to Gaza, having sent 80 tons of supplies last week that are now stored on the island until the corridor is established.
In Jordan, Christodoulides extensively discussed the initiative with King Abdullah, who publicly expressed his support for it, according to the Cypriot presidency. The presidency stated, "They agreed to stay in constant contact to promote this initiative as well as efforts to de-escalate tensions and encourage the pursuit of a political horizon based on the two-state solution."
