The opposition in Cyprus has recently warned that Israel is establishing a “backyard” in the EU island nation, in response to increasing property acquisitions in the country by Israeli investors.

The warning resulted in a diplomatic storm, with both Cypriot and Israeli officials condemning the opposition’s warning as “antisemitic.”

“Israeli buyers are purchasing significant land parcels and strategic economic assets,” spokesperson for the Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL), Stefanos Stefanou, said in June. “They are building Zionist schools, synagogues, gated enclaves … Israel is preparing a backyard in Cyprus, and this cannot but sound the alarm for us.”

“Israeli newspapers speak of a targeted policy of expansion of Israel in Cyprus,” he said. “We do not say that out of xenophobia or antisemitism,” he added, stressing that “Israel is occupying us.”

He noted that Israel has bought large quantities of land and is establishing gated communities, predominantly in Larnaca and Limassol. “These are not just holiday homes. These are settlements in all but name.”

“Specific areas are being bought en masse,” Stephanou said. This has resulted in “closed areas almost inaccessible to anyone other than Israeli nationals.”

He warned that “At some point, we’ll discover our own land doesn’t belong to us,” adding that Cyprus was becoming a “satellite enclave” for Israel.

These land acquisitions are being carried out through what is referred to as a “Golden Visa,” a residency-by-investment scheme that allows non-EU nationals to acquire a residency by investing in property.

Cyprus has issued thousands of these visas with little oversight. Other EU nations, including Spain, have restricted land sales to non-EU nationals.

Cypriot media outlets, including Politis and Cyprus Mail, have recently published investigative reports about these gated communities and political pressure to crack down on the abuse of the Golden Visa, particularly by AKEL.

Between 2021 and 2025, Israelis have purchased over 1,400 properties in Larnaca, over 1,100 in Limassol, and more than 1,200 in Paphos – often located near ports, resorts, and strategic sites such as army bases.

In total, almost 4,000 Israeli-linked properties have been acquired across southern Cyprus since 2021.

“Israelis tend to buy large land parcels, featuring spas and resorts – gated communities, so to speak. Pyla has become their unofficial hub,” real estate consultant Loizos Loizou told Cyprus Mail recently.

Between 2018 and 2025, the number of Israelis residing in Cyprus has surged from 6,500 to around 15,000.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz recently reported that Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency was active in Cyprus and was using it for “safehouse operations.”

Ynet also noted how Israelis were “storming” the real estate market in Cyprus.

Hebrew media has monitored the growing trend of Israeli land acquisition in Cyprus over the past couple of years. Haaretz reported in August 2023 that Israelis were buying “anything in sight” in the island nation, calling it “the second Israel.”

During the recent war with Iran, scores of Israelis made their way to Cyprus on boats to escape from ballistic missile strikes.

The warnings of the Cypriot opposition caused an uproar.

Israel’s Ambassador to Cyprus Oren Anolik said, “With deep concern, we observe and condemn the emergence of uncharacteristic antisemitic rhetoric in Cyprus’s public discourse – rhetoric that, under the guise of ‘political concern,’ revives dark patterns from the past: collective blame, conspiracy theories and veiled scapegoating.”

Politicians from some of Cyprus’s centrist parties also condemned Stephanou’s comments.

The Cypriot government has not issued an official comment on the matter. However, an official from Cyprus’s Foreign Ministry told Cyprus Mail that Nicosia was “monitoring the discourse” and considering a parliamentary debate on hate speech before the August recess.

AKEL rejected the antisemitism accusation, saying it “opposes all forms of misanthropy” and that its criticism targets government policies, not Jewish identity. Stefanou accused the Israeli ambassador of “trying to muzzle legitimate debate.”

Cyprus hosts the Akrotiri base, a major British army facility which has been used by Israel for reconnaissance missions over Gaza.

Israel and Cyprus have intensified their military cooperation in recent years, as part of a joint declaration signed in 2017. They have also carried out several joint military and naval exercises.

Cyprus also maintains close defense ties with the US.