Israel expressed its disappointment Monday
to Cyprus for upgrading the Palestinian mission in Nicosia to that of
an embassy last week, saying this type of move gives the Palestinians
the feeling they can stay away from negotiations and still reap
benefits.
The ministry’s deputy director general for
Europe Rafi Schutz told Cypriot ambassador Dimitris Hatziargyrou that
Israel was surprised that Cyprus had not consulted with Israel before
going through with this move.
The Cypriot ambassador replied that Cyprus
merely wanted to “step into line” with the other EU countries who
recognized a Palestinian state in 1988 and have since upgraded the
mission to that of embassy: Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, the Czech
Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Malta.