A Southern Cypriot EU lawmaker has warned that growing Israeli investment and property acquisitions in Greek-administered Southern Cyprus risk altering the island’s social and economic character.
“Israel is buying Cyprus” through increasing land purchases and development projects carried out by Israeli investors and companies, Fidias Panayiotou said on Saturday through the US social media company X.
Panayiotou said foreign investments had risen significantly in recent years, particularly in the real estate and land development sectors, with Israelis becoming among the most prominent buyers.
“The problem is that we are dependent on Israeli investment for our economy to go well,” he said, arguing that concentrated property purchases were creating “closed residential circles in specific areas.”
He also referred to investments from other non-EU countries, including Russia, Ukraine, China, the US, and the UK, saying foreign ownership itself was not necessarily negative but could become problematic without transparency and oversight.
However, Panayiotou blamed what he described as weak controls, corruption and the Greek-administered Southern Cyprus’s reliance on foreign investment for allowing unchecked expansion by wealthy foreign investors.
