THE LAST of the 13 Palestinian militants who came to Cyprus in a deal to end the siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in May left the island yesterday for an unknown destination.
Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides said he was not authorised to reveal the country that had granted asylum to Abdullah Daoud, the Palestinian Authority’s former intelligence chief in Bethlehem. The other 12 left Cyprus for various countries of the European Union shortly after a couple of weeks on the island
Cassoulides said Daoud would not be joining them, heading instead for a distant, non-European country, where he would meet relatives. Forty-year-old Daoud has two children.
“With Daoud’s departure, Cyprus’ role and mission in regard to this case has been completed,” Cassoulides added.
Cyprus offered to take the Palestinians after an EU deal to take them to Italy broke down.
The Palestinians arrived in Cyprus on May 10, after 39 days under Israeli siege in the Church of the Nativity. The other 12 Palestinians left Cyprus on May 22 for six European countries that had agreed to take them in. Daoud stayed in Nicosia until a host country was found for him.
He left the island yesterday accompanied by a representative of the EU’s High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
