Israeli arrested in Cyprus on suspicion of attempted murder in knife brawl

Two Israelis are under arrest in connection with a brawl and stabbing outside a nightclub in the Cypriot town of Ayia Napa, local media reported Wednesday, with one of them suspected of attempted murder.

According to reports, a 21-year-old Israeli allegedly stabbed and wounded a local man with whom he was arguing, as well as two security guards, early in the morning.

Later in the day, the Famagusta district court remanded the 21-year-old in police custody for eight days while his friend, 22, also an Israeli, who was seriously injured in the clash and is being treated at the Famagusta general hospital, was also arrested, reports said.

The Israelis are not cooperating with investigators, the Cyprus Times reported Thursday.

The two Israelis became involved in an altercation with the local man, 22, outside a club, police said, according to reports.

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Two security guards who were present tried to separate them and calm things down.

Investigators claim that during the clash, one of the Israelis pulled out a knife and stabbed the Cypriot person as well as the two guards.

One of the guards, 41, was stabbed in the stomach, leaving him in a serious condition. He underwent surgery and was said to be stable.

The other guard, 25, was injured in his right leg. The Cypriot suffered light injuries.

The second Israeli man suffered head and face injuries, and local media reported he is in serious condition. There was no word on how these injuries were inflicted.

Police said that when officers arrived, the main Israeli suspect cursed them and disturbed public order. As a result, he is also suspected of disturbing public order and of offending a police officer. The knife involved in the incident was found at the scene.

Israeli tourists have had a troubled past with Ayia Napa, a popular vacation destination.

In March 2025, a district court in Cyprus found five Israelis not guilty of an alleged gang rape, dismissing all charges — including rape, forced sexual intercourse, sexual harassment and abduction — and ordering their release after a year and a half in jail.

In September 2023, a 20-year-old British tourist had accused the five men, all residents of the Arab Israeli town of Majd al-Krum in the Galilee, of abducting her from the pool area of a hotel, forcing her into a hotel room, and raping and abusing her until she managed to escape.

The defendants confirmed there had been a sexual encounter, but insisted it had been consensual.

In a similar case in 2019, which made international headlines, a woman alleged that she was raped by up to 12 Israeli tourists, aged 15 to 22, in a hotel room in the seaside holiday resort of Ayia Napa. She was 18 at the time.

The Israeli teenagers and young men denied any wrongdoing and were eventually released from custody and allowed to return home. There have been calls for that case to be reopened.