Israel 'buying Cyprus' through land acquisitions, warns Greek Cypriot MEP

Warning over Israeli investments

Fidias Panayiotou, a member of the European Parliament from the Greek Cypriot Administration, warned over the weekend that surging Israeli investment and land acquisitions risk fundamentally altering Cyprus's social and economic character, according to Anadolu Agency. Posting on social media platform X on Saturday, the lawmaker said "Israel is buying Cyprus" through increasing property purchases and development projects, noting that Israelis have become among the most prominent buyers in the real estate sector.

Economic dependence concerns

Panayiotou argued that concentrated property purchases are creating "closed residential circles in specific areas" and warned that the Greek Cypriot economy has grown dependent on Israeli capital. "The problem is that we are dependent on Israeli investment for our economy to go well," he said, blaming weak controls and corruption for allowing unchecked expansion by wealthy foreign investors who sometimes operate through companies registered as Cypriot entities.

Regulatory gaps and foreign ownership

He also referred to investments from other non-EU countries including Russia, Ukraine, China, the US, and the UK, stating that foreign ownership itself was not necessarily negative but could become problematic without transparency. Panayiotou claimed that Israeli communities in the south of the island were increasingly developing separate infrastructure, including schools attended mainly by Israeli children, and urged authorities to introduce legislation to improve oversight of land purchases.

Calls for legislative action

Calling for tighter regulation, Panayiotou said authorities should introduce legislation to improve transparency in land purchases and ensure laws were not violated. He also urged measures aimed at strengthening the local economy to reduce dependence on foreign capital and outside influence over domestic affairs.