President Nikos Christodoulides on Sunday morning described his visit on the same day to Jerusalem and Ramallah as important, saying Cyprus could play a key role in bringing Israelis and Palestinians closer together.

Christodoulides, who arrived shortly after 11am, said he has some ideas and thoughts regarding some issues, especially of a humanitarian nature, which he will discuss during his contacts with the two sides.

He said that in view of the Cypriot pesidency of the European Union in 2026, double the number of visits to European and neighbouring states will take place, indicating that one of the Cyprus’ priorities is to bring the EU closer to the region of the wider Middle East.

In the morning, Christodoulides will meet families of hostages kidnapped by Hamas in Jerusalem and will then have successive meetings with the president and prime minister of Israel.

He will then depart for Ramallah, where he will meet with the president of the Palestinian Authority.

He will also have contacts with Unicef officials.